Strength in tough times

As the 2021-2022 year draws to a close, it has continued to be the toughest period since the NHS was created, exacerbated by shortages in key workforce areas.

The NHS and our people need to recover from the pandemic, deal with a huge backlog of care, and prepare for longer term challenges such as rising numbers of people with more than one condition, an ageing population, and mainstreaming new technology.

That is why HEE has been commissioned to produce a new strategic planning framework to identify the drivers for workforce planning in 2037, including social care for the first time, and why we are building a new organisation with NHS England, NHS Improvement and NHS Digital to align workforce, service, finance, and technology.

HEE has continued to work in close collaboration with partners across the system, notably the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England and Improvement to develop common understanding of our priorities, and we are looking ahead to the goals and priorities we will pursue over the course of the next year for our people, learners, patients, and the public.

HEE’s 2022-23 Business Plan recognises the need for continued and consistent delivery as we transition to the new organisation over the coming year. It focuses on workforce transformation, skill mix, and growth; education and training reform; widening workforce participation and diversity, and our role in the global health workforce marketplace.

This plan places people at the centre of our work because healthcare is about people; the people who require it and the people who deliver it which is why we need more and different trained and educated staff to deliver for patients and the public.

We will use the public money we receive to expand education and training in professions where shortages are most acute. We will also focus on looking after people who already work for the NHS through staff wellbeing, tackling health inequalities, developing multi-disciplinary teams, expanding advanced practice, and using quality improvement to drive up quality, safety, and productivity.

These are all significant priorities in ensuring that workforce, our people, are the uppermost priority for the health and care system as we look to recover from the pandemic.

Mark Radford, Chief Nurse at HEE and I have joined colleagues across health and care in the Health Service Journal’s Ukraine Fund, raising money for the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine humanitarian appeal. Please do take a look at the offers and if you would like to bid, please email alastair.mclellan@hsj.co.uk by 6pm on the 29th March 2022 – Good Luck!

Best Wishes

Navina

Dr Navina Evans

Chief Executive 

Health Education England