‘Revised Workforce Plan’ to be revealed for the NHS

The document is said to have a ‘laser-focus’ on shifting care from hospitals and into the community. 

Announced by the government at the beginning of this week, the new, revised workforce plan has come after the Lord Darzi report laid bare the systemic issues which have plagued the NHS for years.

purple and pink heart shaped illustration

One of the main problems, which the Darzi report captured the extremity of, is the staffing crisis – in severe cases some patients have lost their lives because they haven’t been able to access the help they need. 

To give context, recent statistics show the number of nurses working in the community dropped between 5% between 2009 and 2023 and the number of mental health nurses has just returned to 2010 levels – the year the UK entered a recession, experienced high unemployment and a period of austerity.  

With this in mind, the government have decided to revise their current workforce plan, with an aim to publishing it in summer 2025. Originally, the old document contained some decent targets to increase hospital consultants by 49% but the equivalent rise in fully qualified GPs would have been just 4% between 2021/22 and 2023/37.

‘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,’ health secretary Wes Streeting, said. ‘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.’

Streeting continued: ‘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.’

On the topic of the next ten years, the government also have plans to deliver a wider 10 Year Health Plan to help get the NHS back on its feet – the upcoming workforce scheme will be at the core of it.

The health plan will focus on three main objects which will provide three big shifts in healthcare including from hospital to community, analogue to digital and sickness to prevention. Areas across England have already begun discussing what they want to get out of the plan

Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, yesterday 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.’

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Emily Whitehouse
Writer and journalist for Newstart Magazine, Social Care Today and Air Quality News.

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