Recommendations & Conclusions
5 items
8
Conclusion
Seventy-Third Report - Access to urgent…
Acknowledged
A key element of NHS England’s plans for the NHS over the coming years is the NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan, published on 30 June 2023.16 Despite the decline in productivity in recent years, NHS England’s projections for future staff requirements in its workforce plan assume that NHS labour productivity will …
Government response. The government agrees (with what appears to be a conclusion) and states that improving productivity, including reducing staff absences and improving processes, is a key component of existing recovery plans. NHS England will provide further details on factors impacting productivity …
HM Treasury
23
Conclusion
Seventy-Third Report - Access to urgent…
Acknowledged
We have been raising concerns about the lack of long-term planning for the NHS workforce since well before the COVID-19 pandemic, noting in February 2023 that the Department had repeatedly failed to make good on its commitments to publish a plan to address the issue and that that many areas …
Government response. The government agrees with the committee's findings regarding workforce planning, confirming that NHS England's Long Term Workforce Plan, including a revised retention programme, is in motion to address challenges and reduce staff attrition rates by 2037.
HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
Seventy-Third Report - Access to urgent…
Acknowledged
In the workforce plan, NHS England estimates that over a 15-year period, without action, there would be a shortfall of 260,000 to 360,000 staff by 2036–37. NHS England explained that, because it takes time to train people and that they would be completing training over the course of the 15 …
Government response. The government agrees with the committee's findings, noting NHS England has revised its retention programme and the Exemplar programme shows improved leaver rates, with the Long Term Workforce Plan aiming to significantly reduce overall staff attrition by 2037.
HM Treasury
25
Conclusion
Seventy-Third Report - Access to urgent…
Acknowledged
NHS England added that, in terms of the specific offers that it would be making, the two most significant elements were measures focused on flexibility and continuous career development.67 It informed us that much of the retention aspects of the plan was about doing what works, doing this systematically, and …
Government response. The government agrees with the committee's findings, stating NHS England has revised its retention programme and the Exemplar programme shows improved leaver rates, with the Long Term Workforce Plan aiming to significantly reduce overall staff attrition by 2037.
HM Treasury
26
Conclusion
Seventy-Third Report - Access to urgent…
Acknowledged
We asked about the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, since absence rates in the NHS workforce have remained higher since the start of the pandemic than the 61 Committee of Public Accounts, Sustainability and transformation in the NHS, Twenty-Ninth report of Session 2017–19, HC 793, 27 March 2018; Committee …
Government response. The government agrees with the committee's observations, noting the NHS is making progress in recovering lost productivity and reducing staff absences, with the Long Term Workforce Plan improving processes, and NHS England will provide further details on productivity factors and …
HM Treasury