Workforce planning integral to optimal care
Workforce planning is a major issue and will be integral to promoting health, reducing health inequalities and delivering the best possible care with the resources available, the Government has said.
In its response to the House of Commons Health Committee’s report
on workforce planning (PJ, 31 March, p358), the Government says it believes
that detailed planning should be conducted on a local level, but that
the Government should work with the NHS “to ensure that policy
direction and national trends are both understood and built into local
workforce plans”.
The Government also explains that although pay rises have been curtailed
in the wake of the increases resulting from Agenda for Change, average
NHS earnings are expected to increase by 4 per cent this year. “Affordable
pay uplifts are essential if the NHS is to meet the financial targets
needed to reach and maintain financial balance,” it says.
The response explains that workforce expansion has slowed because the
NHS is now in a position where workforce demands are balanced with the
supply of new staff. The report is available from the Department
of Health website
|
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader