Key Summary
- Universities urge stronger focus on education and training in NHS workforce plans
- UK trains too few doctors compared to other countries
- Sector says NHS goals won’t be met without proper university support and funding
Organisations responsible for training doctors, nurses and other health professionals have provided evidence on how best to deliver government’s vision for the NHS workforce, which includes a workforce with the right skills in place.
They have urged the government to place education, training and research at the heart of the new plan.
The government’s call was collectively responded by the Russell Group, which trains over 70 percent of UK doctors and dentists, Council of Deans of Health, GuildHE, London Higher, Medical Schools Council, Dental Schools Council, Pharmacy Schools Council, MillionPlus, Universities UK and University Alliance.
In a letter to health secretary Wes Streeting and health minister Karin Smyth, they also highlighted the significance of their contributions in transforming the NHS over the years.
The letter also outlined how universities are helping meet the three major shifts that government seeks to deliver in the NHS 10 Year Plan: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.
Universities are adapting curricula to reflect the latest innovative technologies, expanding community-based learning, and integrating public health and prevention into training programmes, it added.
Quoting latest figures from the OECD, the pointed out how the UK’s medical training has fallen behind other nations, despite increasing demand on public health services.
The UK currently only trains 13 medical graduates per 100,000 of the population, less than half the number in top OECD countries.
Tracy Lightfoot, pro vice chancellor at University of York said, “We need close working between government, health services and universities so we can develop integrated workforce strategies to deliver the healthcare professionals the UK needs.”
“There is no way that NHS workforce plans can succeed without the input of universities, so our education and training experts are ready to work with government from the very start,” said Dr Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group.
“In recent years the pipeline of newly-trained healthcare professionals has not kept up with demand for NHS services.”
“Removing the barriers to training expansion, and robustly funding universities to deliver this education, will be vital to cutting waiting lists and improving patient care,” Dr Bradshaw added.
