Workforce issues
Anticipating the NHS Workforce Plan
Kate Woodhead says the shifts of care in the 10-Year Plan will be difficult to achieve unless there is a great deal of emphasis on future proofing the workforce in many different ways, while changing the culture of the NHS. She discusses the challenges ahead for the NHS Workforce Plan.
The 10-Year Plan for the NHS,1 published last
year, is an ambitious plan which requires a huge change in many aspects of healthcare delivery, not least by the people who deliver the care. It could be described as a re-incarnation of the NHS, citing three main shifts to where and how care will be delivered. The three shifts include: 1. Hospital to community 2. Analogue to digital 3. Sickness to prevention
The government has set out a great ambition to substantially effect the transformation to drive reform. They include five visions of how healthcare may look in 10 years’ time including: l Data to deliver impact. l AI to drive patient power, a step change improvement in quality of care and enhanced productivity.
l Genomics and predictive analytics for pre-emptive, personalised care.
l Wearables to make care real time. l Robotics to support precision.2
All the above aspirations need staff with a range of new skills and capabilities. It is likely that many of the people who will deliver this enormous change, are already working in the NHS. There are definitely intentions by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to increase the number of healthcare professionals employed in the English NHS, but as it takes three years to create qualified nurses and seven years for a new doctor, the 10-Year Plan must therefore include transformation of the current workforce. The vision for the staff for the future, ahead of the forthcoming workforce plan establishes that staff will be better treated by the system, more motivated, have better training, and more scope to develop their careers. Present staff might be forgiven for some
scepticism, but the NHS 10-Year Plan does recognise the need to boost staff retention, identifies key actions around investment,
reducing burnout and modernising roles to prevent skilled workers from leaving. One of the key aspects of the new workforce plan must be to ensure that retention of skilled professionals is front and centre of future activity. Retention of NHS staff is challenging, and
insufficient data is held regarding why people leave and will be central to delivering on the 10- Year Plan. Poor staff retention leads to further workforce shortages, as the stress associated with increased workload exacerbates the pressure on remaining workers. It also leads to greater use of agency staff and potentially a reduction in the quality of care, which can be delivered. Where vacancies are highest, remaining staff have to take on extra shifts and can suffer additional stress, which may lead to burnout. Proactive measures need to be implemented urgently, to stem the tide of leavers. The 10-Year Plan states that overseas staff will be less likely to be recruited – despite the fact that the NHS has long relied upon international recruitment to plug the domestic
gaps. The Plan suggests that, although 30% of staff employed are currently trained overseas, this government plans to reduce this figure to less than 10% of all NHS joiners. This will be particularly challenging to achieve.
Staff wellbeing and support Poor support for staff wellbeing, such as lack of adequate hydration due to missed breaks and interrupted or negative sleep, are known to have major implications for retention of staff. A preventive approach needs to be encouraged, so that the culture in the Trust fulfils the basic needs of its staff. Co-development of policies and plans within each NHS organisation, between staff and line managers, should ensure that needs are highlighted and can be addressed actively. This can positively impact engagement and help overall staff experience of working conditions. A set of staff standards are being developed
at present, which are due to outline minimum standards for modern employment. These are designed to be published by the government
March 2026 I
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