TO BE PUBLISHED October 2024
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This conference will focus on priorities and the pathway for long-term workforce planning, training, retention and reform in England.
It will be an opportunity to discuss next steps for the new Government’s commitment to delivering the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan published last year, which sets out plans to address the projected workforce shortfall over the next 15 years, including doubling medical school places to 15,000 by 2031/32.
Delegates will assess what will be needed to create the increased medical education and nursing training places as part of the plan - along with the implications and opportunities for stakeholders in the health, social care, education and training systems.
Areas for discussion include priorities for delivering medical education in England, building the academic workforce to meet targets for increased places, and options for revising the length of programmes so newly qualified professionals can enter the workforce more quickly.
Increasing accessibility and options for apprenticeships for key roles will be discussed, as well as building capacity for this type of training. Discussion will also consider strategies for reducing reliance on international workers and improving resilience within the domestic workforce, including whether funding and plans go far enough to achieve this within current timeframes.
The discussion takes place in the context of the extended period of industrial action within the NHS, and initiatives from the Secretary of State aimed at their resolution.
Putting in place resources for managing and paying staff, including those coming in through new places will also be discussed, as well as key considerations for where newly qualified staff are posted in relation to patient need, including addressing GP shortages.
It will be an opportunity to consider options for improving NHS workforce planning, following the NAO report published in March setting out recommendations to make the model more useful and accurate for future decision-making.
We also expect delegates to look at improving retention within the workforce, including latest thinking on improving career pathways and contributing to research, plans to retain older workforce members in the NHS and whether reforms to the pension scheme and flexible working options are enough. They will also consider the role of integrated care systems in delivering planning and culture change locally for the workforce, and developing best practice for retaining the workforce in disadvantaged areas.
Further sessions look at the way forward for reform, including the role of regulation in new advanced and associate professional roles, and the outlook for developing internship models and how this could work in practice. Priorities for ensuring the workforce has the right skillsets for operating innovative digital health methods and working with multi-morbidity patients will also be discussed, as well as next steps for effective leadership following Government proposals to form a new Royal College for Clinical Leadership.
We are pleased to be able to include keynote sessions with: Dr Alan Clamp, Chief Executive Officer, Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care; Tim Phillips, Director, Health Value for Money, NAO; and Hiba Sameen, Lead Economist, REAL Centre Team, The Health Foundation.
