Introduction

HEE has long argued for better alignment of service, financial and workforce planning. Collaboration and cooperation have taken us some way along this path. Creating a new single national and regional leadership organisation with NHS England, NHS Improvement, HEE and NHS Digital gives us the chance to build this better alignment, so this is HEE’s last independent Business Plan.

The new organisation brings education and training spending into NHS England’s funding allocation and simplifies NHS national leadership creating greater synergy across the Long-Term Plan, People Plan, education and training reform, and workforce transformation.

This will help us better support colleagues to recruit and develop the health professionals needed to deliver exceptional patient care, now and in the future.

We will learn to live with COVID-19 as we deliver recovery, workforce expansion and education and training reform. Our work needs to factor in catching up for learners and ongoing COVID-19 need such as vaccinations. The availability of staff to support education and training will also be impacted by absence rates, mental health risks and burnout because of the pandemic.

This plan sets out how HEE will meet these challenges and take advantage of opportunities to improve, reform and deliver the education and training the NHS needs as we transition to the new organisation.