Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 25
25
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 103
Reform NHS pension scheme to prevent senior staff early retirement and reduced hours.
Recommendation
It is a national scandal that senior medical staff are being forced to reduce their working contribution to the NHS or to leave it entirely because of NHS pension arrangements. Clearly, the Government’s changes to tax regulations have not gone far enough to remedy this crisis. With mounting waiting lists and ever-increasing demands, the NHS cannot afford to lose staff who are willing and able to work, and urgent action is needed to reform NHS pensions and prevent the haemorrhage of senior staff. The Government must act swiftly to reform the NHS pension scheme to prevent senior staff from reducing their hours and retiring early from the NHS.
Government Response Summary
The government's response acknowledged the issue by referring to "Our Plan for Patients," which mentions increasing pension flexibilities to retain senior clinicians but provides no specific details or commitments regarding the reform of the NHS pension scheme itself.
Paragraph Reference:
103
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The government, in its document, Our Plan for Patients, set out how it would help expand the Health and Care workforce—including by supporting retention of senior staff, using existing staff to the full extent of their professional qualifications, making registration simpler, and stepping up domestic and international recruitment of social care staff. The government has recently published Our Plan for Patients, which sets out ministers’ priorities for the health and social care system for this winter, and next. The plan contains a number of commitments in relation to supporting and expanding the workforce, including: increasing pension flexibilities to retain senior clinicians, ensuring that we use staff to the full extent of their professional qualifications, making it more straightforward for staff train overseas to register, and expanding our recruitment of social care workers, domestically and internationally.