University Alliance has joined forces with other organisations responsible for educating doctors, nurses and allied health professionals to urge the government to include education, training, and research at the centre of its upcoming NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan.
In a new letter addressed to Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting MP, and Health Minister Karin Smyth MP, we argue that now is a timely opportunity for closer collaboration between the Department of Health and Social Care, Department for Education, NHS England, regulators, local government, and higher education providers.
The recent call for evidence by the Department of Health and Social Care gathered evidence on how best to deliver government’s vision for the NHS workforce, which includes a workforce fit for the future with the right skills in place. Our letter welcomes the government’s ambition to deliver a long-term, system-wide approach to workforce planning. However, as training providers, we say the narrow focus of the call for evidence did not adequately reflect the central role that education, training and research play in shaping the future health workforce.
Alongside University Alliance, the letter has been signed by The Russell Group, Council of Deans of Health, GuildHE, London Higher, The Medical Schools Council, Dental Schools Council, Pharmacy Schools Council, MillionPlus and Universities UK.
Collectively, we have renewed our previous call for a joint ministerial taskforce to coordinate efforts on student recruitment, clinical placement capacity, degree apprenticeships, and workforce retention.
We also call for urgent action to strengthen the clinical academic pathway, which links research, education, and clinical practice. This pipeline has seen a worrying decline in recent years, and revitalising it is essential in driving innovation in healthcare and improving patient outcomes.
Vanessa Wilson, Chief Executive of University Alliance, said:
“Universities are central to delivering the skilled workforce the UK needs – and the success of the NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan depends on them.“To scale up the workforce and strengthen the clinical academic pathway, education, training, and research must be embedded at the heart of the plan. Together with colleagues across the sector, we’re calling for closer collaboration with government and the NHS on student recruitment, placement capacity, and workforce retention. Universities have the solutions – now we need the partnerships to turn ambition into action.”
