The Government and NHS will unveil a refreshed Workforce Plan in
the summer with a laser-focus on shifting care from hospitals and
into the community, as we work to get the NHS back on its feet
and fit for the future.
Lord Darzi's shocking report laid bare the systemic issues which
have gripped the NHS for years and led to poorer experiences for
patients and staff. Too much care is being delivered in hospitals
because of historic underinvestment in the community.
Recent data shows that:
- There are almost 16% fewer fully qualified GPs in the UK than
other high income countries relative to our population.
- The number of nurses working in the community fell by at
least 5%, between 2009 and 2023.
- A reduction of nearly 20% in the number of health visitors -
who can be crucial to development in the first five years of a
child's life - between 2019 and 2023.
- The number of mental health nurses has just returned to its
2010 level.
The original workforce plan would increase hospital consultants
by 49%, but the equivalent rise in fully qualified GPs would have
been just 4% between 2021/22 and 2036/37.
Through a refreshed workforce plan, alongside reform and
investment, the Government is taking the decisive action needed
to ensure it has the right workforce in the right place at the
right time to deliver its 10 Year Health Plan and get the NHS
back on its feet to deliver world-class care.
Health and Social Care Secretary said:
Lord Darzi diagnosed the dire state of the NHS, including that
too many people end up in hospital, because there aren't the
resources in the community to reach patients earlier.
Our 10 Year Health Plan will deliver three big shifts in the
focus of healthcare from hospital to community, analogue to
digital, and sickness to prevention. We will refresh the NHS
workforce plan to fit the transformed health service we will
build over the next decade, so the NHS has the staff it needs to
treat patients on time again.
Through the Government's Plan for Change, an unrelenting approach
is being taken to deliver an NHS fit for the future as part of a
decade of national renewal. The Chancellor's first Budget
invested almost £26 billion of funding this year and next for the
health system to address critical shortages and cut waiting
lists, including delivering an extra 40,000 appointments.
Since July, significant progress has already been made by the
Government on its Mission to deliver an NHS fit for the future
and to support the workforce, putting funding in place to employ
more GPs, ending devastating resident doctor strikes within its
first few months, and sending crack teams of top clinicians into
hospitals with high waiting lists.
Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, said
The NHS is nothing without our incredible staff and having a
sustainable workforce is a key building block for an NHS fit for
the future – that's why we committed to update the plan regularly
so that it reflects the changing and growing needs of patients.
While the NHS is delivering more care to patients in the
community, with the expansion of virtual wards, community
diagnostic centres and neighbourhood hubs, part of our longer
term goal is delivering even more care out of hospitals, and
we'll work closely with the government to refresh the workforce
plan, alongside the upcoming 10 Year Health Plan.
Delivering three big shifts in health care will be at the core of
the government's wider 10 Year Health Plan, from hospital to the
community, analogue to digital, and sickness to
prevention. The workforce will form a central part of this
plan.
Lord Darzi's report made clear the NHS has suffered from years of
underinvestment and a lack of effective reform, with far too many
patients ending up in hospital. As part of our 10 Year Health
Plan, care will be shifted from hospital to the community to
support the NHS to free up hospital appointments, tackling
waiting lists and easing the strain on the health service.
The expansion of the hospital workforce has come at the expense
of other care settings and the proportion of the total NHS budget
dedicated to acute hospitals has continued to rise, while the
proportion of the NHS budget going to primary care has fallen by
a quarter in just over a decade – from 24% in 2009 to just 18% by
2021. Despite this significant flow of resources into hospitals,
output has not risen at nearly the same rate and NHS productivity
has still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
Because patients can't get the care they need in the community,
like GP appointments, they end up in A&E, which is worse for
them and more expensive for taxpayers. At a typical A&E on a
typical evening in 2009, there would have been just under 40
people waiting in the queue. By 2024, that had swelled to more
than 100 people.
The ten-year plan is due out next Spring. Following that, the
workforce plan, which is due to be revised every two years, will
be refreshed next summer.
