Educational sector bodies that represent institutions responsible for training doctors, nurses and allied health professionals call for greater recognition of education, training and research in the current NHS workforce call for evidence.
GuildHE joins the Russell Group, Medical Schools Council, University Alliance, Council of Deans of Health, Dental Schools Council, London Higher, Million Plus, Pharmacy Schools Council and Universities UK in writing a letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to urge the government to reconsider and place healthcare educational providers at the heart of the NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan.
Higher education institutions train the clinical health and social care workforce in this country. To achieve the NHS 10 Year Health Plan's ambitions to shift the healthcare service in this country from hospital to community care, and from sickness to prevention, it will be vital to scale up the allied health and nursing workforce. The government will not succeed in these targets without the voices of vocational and specialist health and social care institutions to help drive skills development and clinical expansion. I'm pleased to join my colleagues from across the sector to call for education, training and research to be put at the heart of the 10 Year Workforce Plan.
Dr Brooke Storer-Church, Chief Executive Officer
The UK's education and training system is critical to the future workforce of the NHS and integral to the government's mission to shift NHS services to preventative and community based care.
A distinct component to this system is clinical placements. Despite their position as the foundation of healthcare training, placements for doctors, nurses and allied health professionals are in crisis. Due to issues with resource, staffing and inefficiency, the current delivery model is under significant strain and does not work for students or supervisory staff.
This is a future workforce issue and educational training providers must have a valued voice in raising these challenges, shaping the strategy and supporting the government to transform them.
The Times Higher Education reported on the letter to government: 'Universities fear being left out of NHS work plans'.