Brain Tumour Research is one of more than 60 organisations supporting an amendment to the Health and Care Bill to strengthen workforce planning.
Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt MP has tabled the amendment, which would require the Secretary of State to publish independently verified assessments of current and future workforce numbers every two years.
The amendment has been tabled with the support of 38 cross-party MPs, including Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Jonathan Ashworth MP, and more than 60 organisations and charities, including Brain Tumour Research.
Currently, Clause 34 of the Bill places a duty on the Secretary of State to publish a report describing the system in place for assessing and meeting workforce needs once a parliament. The duty as currently proposed will not report if enough people are being trained now to deliver health and care services in the future.
Regular, independent workforce projection data, as proposed by this amendment, will provide strong foundations to better understand how many staff will be needed to meet demand in the future.
Hugh Adams, our Head of Stakeholder Relations, said: “There seems to be a consensus that not enough has been done in the past on workforce planning and now we are at a point where there aren’t nearly enough doctors or nurses to do the work the Government and the public wants.
“Forcing such plans to be published would help to ensure enough places for students to train to work in the NHS. They are the lifeblood and the future of the NHS.”
Read more about here: https://www.rcp.ac.uk/guidelines-policy/strengthening-workforce-planning-health-and-care-bill
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