Responding to the workforce report by the King’s Fund, Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation, Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers said:
“This well-considered report is clear that there will need to be minimum of £900 million more invested every year for the next five years in order to boost numbers of staff we train, employ and develop to support the delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan.
“The report reinforces the argument from employers that some level of incentive is required to fill the extra nurse training we need in particular, as well as the importance of a more thoughtful government approach to international recruitment after we leave the European Union.
“Employers accept that there is more they must do to improve our workplaces but they also need tangible national support and extra investment.”
Many other actions employers have been calling for include:
- Changes to the way the apprenticeship levy operates to realise the opportunity this route provides for nurse training
- The importance of re-investing in workforce development funding to help keep pace with emerging technology and enable the necessary service transformation to take place
- Ensuring the NHS pay system supports recruitment and retention
- Pension reform and to ensure we have a functioning immigration system which enables the necessary international recruitment in the NHS and social care.
