Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Accepted in Part
Current shortages in the specialist workforce are putting palliative care services in an unsustainable position...
Recommendation
Current shortages in the specialist workforce are putting palliative care services in an unsustainable position which threatens their ability to deliver equitable and high-quality palliative and end of life care. Extensive consultant vacancies, impending retirements, limited training places and widespread nursing shortages all contribute to an inability to meet demand, with particular staff shortages experienced in children and young people’s palliative care. This is an unacceptable situation, and urgent action is needed address these shortages. (Conclusion, Paragraph 68)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government partially accepts, focusing on training for the generalist workforce and developing a Qualification in Specialism Standard (QiSS) for palliative care. They plan to have funding and places for QiSS modules ready by March 2027/28, and a career pathway framework is already available.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted in Part
Partially Accept Specialist workforce The 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out action to ensure we have a sustainable workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10 Year Health Plan. We are working with partners to ensure the Plan delivers for staff and patients. We are also engaging independent experts to ensure it is ambitious, forward-looking and evidence-based. While the Plan will articulate transformational changes for different professional groups and service areas, it would not be right to set targets for staffing, an issue best managed by individual NHS trusts, which are responsible for ensuring they have the right number of staff, with the right skill mix, to provide safe and effective care. The Qualification in Specialism Standard (QiSS) referenced in the recommendation, sits within a wider career pathway, core capabilities in practice and education framework that has been developed by NHS England (NHSE) in collaboration with Stakeholders The framework supports the development of and planning for the current and future supportive, assistive and registration level nursing workforce (soon to also include allied health professions) who provide universal, targeted and specialist palliative care and end of life care and supports ICBs to ensure sufficient workforce is in place across all settings with the knowledge to deliver the care required. Version 1 of the Career pathway, core capabilities in practice and education framework, incorporating a qualification in specialism for palliative care and end-of-life care, is already available on the NHS Futures website. A Steering Group, led by NHS England’s Chief Nursing Officer’s office is working with NHS England’s Workforce Training and Education leads and their expert reference group to commission the QiSS modules. We are planning to have funding and places ready for March 2027/28.
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