Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 8
8
It is essential that the NHS understands not just how many nurses it needs, but...
Conclusion
It is essential that the NHS understands not just how many nurses it needs, but where and in what specialisms. However, the NAO and other stakeholders have noted that the NHS Long Term Plan contained service commitments that did not have a complete assessment of the type and number of nurses needed to deliver the plan. For example, for cancer service commitments, there were no separate estimates of the overall cancer nursing capacity required, but an assumption that cancer needs would be met from the overall increase anticipated for the nursing workforce.12 In December 2019, while the People Plan was still in development, the government made a pledge to deliver 50,000 more nurses by 2025. However, the NAO’s report found that, in March 2020, NHSE&I and HEE were still developing their model to understand and quantify the demand for nurses.13
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
2.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 2.2 The government agrees that the modelling will need to be updated in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, it cannot currently commit to when any such modelling will be complete and publishable as it is likely to be subject to substantive ongoing change as the COVID-19 outbreak develops. 2.3 The NHS Long Term Plan and People Plan described the longstanding shortages in nursing, as well as the pressure of continuing demand growth from a growing and ageing population and the expanding frontiers of medical science and innovation. 2.4 The government therefore committed to ensuring a substantial improvement in nurse staffing levels in England’s NHS by committing to the delivery of 50,000 more nurses, to tackle challenging vacancy levels seen in the NHS, continuing demand growth, and concerns about areas of longstanding unmet need. Nursing numbers have grown by over 13,000 WTEs over the past year.