Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 23
23
Acknowledged
NHS England finally published its long-term workforce plan in June 2023, addressing previous failures.
Conclusion
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 of the NHS workforce appeared to be in crisis.61 NHS England published its NHS Long Term Workforce Plan on 30 June 2023. NHS England assured us that the new plan gives hope that there is a line of sight to a sustainable future staffing model for the NHS, for current staff and also those joining in the future.62 Recruitment and retention
Government Response Summary
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.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: April 2024 2.2 NHS England has revised the scope of the retention programme, in response to the cost of living impacts and the need to maximise workforce capacity during the extremely challenging winter. 2.3 The Exemplar programme was launched in April 2022 and is based on the idea that by delivering the interventions aligned to the People Promise together in one place, at the same time, improved outcomes for staff, organisations and patients will be achieved, as well as optimum staff satisfaction and retention. 2.4 Exemplar organisations’ leaver rates are improving faster than non-Exemplars. All staff leaver rate in Exemplars declined 0.6 percentage points (pp), from 8.9 to 8.3%, compared to 0.3pp in non-Exemplars (9.0 to 8.7%). Nursing leaver rate has declined 0.9pp, from 7.8 to 6.9%, whereas the non-Exemplar group has only decreased by 0.4pp (7.3 to 6.9%). 2.5 The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan considers the challenges facing the workforce over the next 15 years and sets out actions to address them. The collective impact of the Plan’s proposals is projected to help reduce the overall leaver rate for NHS employed staff from 9.1% in 2022 to between 7.4% and 8.2% by 2037. This is equivalent to retaining 55,000–128,000 full-time members of staff.