NBHC Sustainability
October 31, 2017
The Health Foundation's report highlights that national policy and planning for the NHS workforce in England is "not fit for purpose," pointing to high staff turnover and instability across the NHS and a decline in the number of trainee nurses. Among the report's findings:
- The NHS workforce increased by 2% in the year to April 2017, with a rise in managers and consultants countered by a drop in nurses (0.2% decrease in the year to April 2017) and GPs (0.7% decrease from December 2016 to end of June 2017);
- Increasing admissions and decreasing nurse numbers risks overstretching nurses and undermining progress. Outside hospitals there saw declines in community nurse and health visitor numbers;
- The government has promised 21,000 new posts in mental health by 2020 but there are reservations about whether the target is achievable or will provide staff with the right level of skills;
- 1,220 fewer students had started undergraduate nursing degrees in England this year;
- The government is aiming to recruit 2,000 GPs from overseas over the next three years but just 38 were recruited in the first six months of 2017.
- Increasing workforce instability in the NHS is costing the NHS both financially and by reducing continuity of care for patients.
Related News:
Number of NHS managers recruited soars as shortage of nurses grows - The Telegraph
NHS England workforce planning 'not fit for purpose', says report - The Guardian
Full article link