Appendix 2(b) EIA form - PHI assistant
Argyll and Bute Council · 26 March 2025
Back to Argyll and Bute HSCP Integration Joint Board (IJB) — 26 March 2025 and its agenda
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Equality Impact Assessment Section 1: About the proposal Title of Proposal Discontinuation of Band 4 Public Health Intelligence Assistant position. Intended outcome of proposal The Public Health Intelligence Assistant post sits within the Argyll and Bute Public Health team. Tasks of this position included: • Develop and maintain a knowledge of health information sources, including their publication schedules, uses and limitations, and of national and local policies governing information sharing to ensure compliance. • Prepare reference and look-up files to support data analysis and help to maintain documentation relevant to the knowledge management of the team. • Support the timely collation, validation and submission of public health information required for performance monitoring. • Provides data support to the Public Health Team of the Directorate of Public Health and Health Policy. • Engage and participate in staff governance, ensuring that continuous learning and development, appraisal mechanisms and reviews are undertaken appropriately. • Develop intelligence, analyse information and communicate findings clearly and concisely, in written or verbal form and using charts, tabular or graphical output as appropriate. The post became vacant in Spring 2023 and the tasks were taken over by other members of the Public Health team. This proposal will cut the position of Public Health Intelligence Assistant as part of the saving strategy for the HSCP Argyll and Bute. Description of proposal The Public Health Intelligence (PHI) Team is part of the Argyll and Bute Public Health team. The task of PHI is to provide reliable analysis, interpretation and presentation of disparate sources of data and evidence for the Public Health Directorate, NHS Highland, and its partner agencies. Since the PHI assistant position became vacant in spring 2023 the Argyll and Bute team consists of a Public Health Intelligence Specialist. The post was advertised twice but could not be filled. A major problem in the recruitment process was that the post does not fulfil the requirements needed to sponsor the visa of a non-UK worker. Other options to fill this vacancy were discussed but had to be dismissed: 1. Turning the position into an apprenticeship in cooperation with a university. This option had to be dismissed, as the team does not have the capacity to appropriately mentor and support an apprentice. 2. Combining the post with a band 4 part-time position of another team to create a full-time position. No appropriate position in another team could be identified. In the absence of a PHI assistant their tasks had been taken over by other members of the Public Health team. Importantly, the Highland PHI team provides frequent and ongoing support for Argyll and Bute PHI work, without which the existing volume of work request could not be serviced. Considering the difficulties experienced in filling this position and the solution in form
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of the redistribution of tasks, the PHI assistant position will be cut to support the effort of NHS Highland to stay in budget. HSCP Strategic Priorities to which the proposal contributes • Budget requirements Lead officer details Name of lead officer Saskia Schmitz Job title Public Health Intelligence Specialist Department Public Health Appropriate officer details Name of appropriate officer Alison McGrory Job title Associate Director - Public Health Department Public Health Sign-off of EIA Date of sign-off Who will deliver the proposal? The work will be led by the Public Health Team. Section 2: Evidence used in the course of carrying out EIA Consultation / engagement Due to the difficulties described above, the post could not be filled for over a year and was a fortuitous saving to meet budget requirements. No consultation or engagement was conducted out with the public health team. The PHI Highland team was informed of the position cut. Data The Public Health Intelligence Assistant position has been vacant since spring 2023. Tasks previously held by this position were redistributed, which means that no specific area of work can be identified that will go undone without this position. Other information Gaps in evidence Section 3: Impact of proposal Impact on service users: Negative No impact Positive Don’t know Protected characteristics: Age X Disability X Ethnicity X Sex x Gender reassignment x Marriage and Civil Partnership x Pregnancy and Maternity x Religion x Sexual Orientation X Fairer Scotland Duty: Mainland rural population X Island populations X Low income X Low wealth X
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Negative No impact Positive Don’t know Material deprivation X Area deprivation X Socio-economic background X Communities of place X Communities of interest X If you have identified any negative impacts on service users, give more detail here: If any ‘don’t knows’ have been identified, when will impacts on these groups be clear? How has ‘due regard’ been given to any negative impacts that have been identified? Impact on service deliverers (including employees, volunteers etc.): Negative No impact Positive Don’t know Protected characteristics: Age X Disability X Ethnicity X Sex X Gender reassignment X Marriage and Civil Partnership X Pregnancy and Maternity X Religion X Sexual Orientation X Fairer Scotland Duty: Mainland rural population X Island populations X Low income X Low wealth X Material deprivation X Area deprivation X Socio-economic background X Communities of place X Communities of interest X If you have identified any negative impacts on service deliverers, give more detail here: If any ‘don’t knows’ have been identified, when will impacts on these groups be clear? How has ‘due regard’ been given to any negative impacts that have been identified? Section 4: Interdependencies Is this proposal likely to have any knock-on effects for any other activities carried out by or on behalf of the HSCP? Yes
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Details of knock-on effects identified This proposal will influence the work of the PHI team. Cutting the position will lead to a permanent decrease of capacity within the Argyll and Bute PHI team that will reduce the amount of projects the team can support in the future. To mitigate the effects of this proposal the team will reevaluate short-, medium- and long-term priorities, explore options for automation and further strengthen cooperative work with the Highland public health intelligence team and other analyst teams within the HSCP Argyll and Bute and NHS Highland. The ongoing support from the Highland PHI team is essential to meet the volume of work requests for PHI in Argyll and Bute. Section 5: Monitoring and review Monitoring and review This change will be reviewed in case of a change of budget or a change of the current established support structures, that would lead to a further decrease of the PHI capacities available.