Inaction on workforce planning will hamper the NHS and social care's ability to recover

Responding to the vote on the Health and Care Bill amendment on workforce planning, Anita Charlesworth, Director of Research and REAL Centre at the Health Foundation, said: 

‘The rejection of today’s Health and Care Bill amendment on workforce planning is deeply disappointing.

‘For decades, planning for the health and care workforce of the future has been the Achilles’ heel of UK health care policy. The UK desperately needs to invest in training, pay, terms and conditions to secure the workforce needed to meet growing demand for care. That’s why, along with over 60 organisations, we supported this amendment so that in future England has robust, independent projections of the health and social care staff the country will need.

‘Structural change is not the answer to the staffing crisis. While there is sense in merging HEE and NHSE to better coordinate workforce planning this will not address the growing gap between the demand facing health and care services and the staff available to provide care.

‘Further inaction will significantly hamper the NHS and social care’s ability to recover after the pandemic and address the backlog of care. A fully funded long-term workforce strategy is long overdue.’

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Emily Wilson
Emily.Wilson@health.org.uk
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