In 2025, Kerry Woodcock, Head of Professional Standards and Practice Education at Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, joined the Shelford Group as MHOST Fellow, a role established to support the review and refresh of the MHOST workforce planning tool.
The MHOST is a multi-disciplinary, evidence based system that enables ward based clinicians to: (i) assess patient acuity and dependency; and (ii) use this data, together with professional judgement, to ensure ward establishments reflect patient needs. It is part of the suite of Safer Nursing Care Tools developed by the Shelford Group. All tools go through a regular cycle of refresh to ensure that they remain evidence based and fit for purpose.
Kerry has joined the team on a part-time basis to bring additional capability, capacity and mental health experience into the project. In this Q&A she shares her experience of working as a Fellow to support the project.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Q&A with Kerry Woodcock
Q: What attracted you to the MHOST Fellowship?
I was really drawn to the chance to contribute to something with national reach and practical impact. It’s a genuinely invaluable opportunity to share what I’ve learned about mental health workforce planning – while also learning from the experiences of other Trusts, including colleagues across the Shelford Group. The refresh of the MHOST will ensure that the tool continues to reflect the realities of contemporary mental health services, and the fellowship offers a way to bring frontline-informed thinking into the work, while also connecting with peers who are tackling similar chellenges in different contexts.
Q: What are you working on as part of the MHOST refresh?
Currently my focus is on helping train and support the Trust teams with their data collections, to ensure they feel supported as they gather the data we need to refresh the tool. I also analyse ward quality audits as they are submitted, to ensure wards are of a sufficient standard to be used for data inclusion in the study. Once we’ve collected sufficient data from Trusts to help us refresh the MHOST tool, part of my role will also help ensure it is easy to access, usable and grounded in mental health practice. That includes thinking about how standards land in a range of settings, and how the tool can best support organisations to set staffing establishments and identify improvement priorities in a way that is meaningful for patients, carers and staff.
Q: How does your experience in workforce planning shape what you bring to the programme?
Mental health workforce planning is complex – skills mix, professional roles, supervision, education capacity, service models and local population needs all interact. Through the fellowship, I’ve been able to share practical learning about what supports safe, sustainable staffing and high-quality practice education which I gained on the CNO Safer Staffing Fellowship/MSc in Healthcare workforce planning, delivery and assurance. At the same time, hearing how other Trusts are approaching these issues is helping me challenge my own assumptions and bring back useful ideas to my organisation too. I have benefitted from the mentorship provided by the subject matter expert as well as access to the CNO Safer Staffing Faculty team at NHS England, which is included in the support package provided as part of the fellowship.
Q: What have you gained from working with other trusts on this project?
Trusts are under increased operational pressures, but the openness and generosity of local teams has been a real highlight, and we’re so grateful to every team who has provided data to help us refresh the tool. Through supporting training, I’ve also helped colleagues to connect, compare approaches and exchange insights, and there’s a lot of shared ambition and shared problem-solving. These conversations will help shape the refresh of the tool in a very tangible way, and ensure we sense-check the refresh against real operational pressures and opportunities. It’s also reinforced how much we can achieve when we learn with and from each other.
Q: Have there been any challenges whilst working on the MHOST refresh?
Data collection has been slower than originally anticipated due to pressures on staff in Trusts. Without sufficient data we cannot refresh the MHOST or any of the safer nursing care tools, as we need to ensure we have sufficient high-quality data to reflect the care requirements of our patients today. Therefore, the continued active participation of Trusts is essential, and for MHOST the role of the Fellow has been important to help support Trusts with their data collection. For MHOST we have also collated case studies from sites that have already submitted full datasets which contain useful hints, tips and experiences that colleagues may find helpful.
Q: What would “success” look like for you when the refreshed MHOST is launched?
Success would be a tool that feels valid, reliable and user friendly, which supports decision making in setting and resetting staffing establishments reflecting patient needs (acuity & dependency). It will also be a tool that enables better conversations about quality and improvement, especially around workforce capability, support and learning environments. I’d like Trusts to be able to use it to identify priorities confidently, benchmark thoughtfully, and focus effort where it will make the biggest difference for people who use services and the staff who support them. I’m grateful to the Shelford Group for the trust they’ve placed in me as the first Fellow as well as the support structure they have provided. I’m looking forward to continuing to work alongside colleagues across the system as we refresh the MHOST – sharing learning and strengthening collaboration.