NHS Workforce Plan promises to train, retain and reform
Record levels of recruitment, staff retention and new ways of working are all part of a new strategy to address existing healthcare vacancies and meet the challenges of a growing and ageing population.
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan is the first ever comprehensive strategy to make staffing sustainable and improve patient care. The plan includes a commitment to deal with workforce shortages by recruiting record numbers of doctors, nurses, dentists and other healthcare staff. It was commissioned and endorsed by the government, which has promised over £2.4 billion over five years to pay for additional education and training places, over and above existing funding commitments.
“On the 75th anniversary of our health service, this government is making the largest single expansion in NHS education and training in its history,” said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. “This is a plan for investment and a plan for reform. In the coming years we will train twice the number of doctors and an extra 24,000 nurses a year, helping to cut waiting lists and improve patient care. And we will do more to retain our brilliant NHS staff and reform the way the health system works to ensure it is fit for the future.”
Forward thinking
For decades there has been an absence of strategic planning to ensure the NHS workforce is fit for purpose. This has limited the potential to make the most of the skills of those who work in frontline healthcare jobs. It has also hampered efforts to forecast future staffing needs and align them with financial planning so that recruitment levels are matched to demand.
The new plan includes detailed modelling of NHS workforce demand and supply over a 15-year period, showing the resulting shortfall. It sets out the actions that will be taken in the coming years to address this shortfall in addition to, and building on, actions and investment already committed over the next two years.
Supporting existing NHS staff
As well as the training and recruitment of new doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, there will also be a greater focus on supporting and retaining existing NHS staff. That means better opportunities for career development and improved flexible working options, as well as government reforms to the NHS pension scheme.
Investment in new technology will also help to improve efficiency and free up staff to focus on using their skills and expertise in the most productive ways. This includes more funding for Artificial Intelligence (AI), with an expert group being set up to identify appropriate advanced technology which could make a real difference.
“This is a truly historic day for the NHS in England,” commented NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard. “For 75 years, the extraordinary dedication, skill and compassion of NHS staff has been the backbone of the health service – and the publication of our first-ever NHS Long Term Workforce Plan now gives us a once in a generation opportunity to put staffing on sustainable footing for the years to come.”
