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DownloadCOUNTRY: Untied Kingdom
KNOWLEDGE BROKER: Matt Edwards, Head of Capacity Analysis, Department of Health and Social Care, UK
SEPEN thanks the knowledge brokers for their contribution in checking and completing the country-information. SEPEN is accountable for the content of the country profiles.
| Type of information | Source | Year | Remarks |
| Table 1: Health workforce stock and replacement | OECD | 2019 | Age characteristics of the nursing stock are not reported. |
| Figure 1: Mobility level in absolute numbers | OECD | 2018 | Only immigration data for OECD countries are available. The data produced are therefore incomplete. Not all OECD-countries register the country of origin of incoming health professionals and some do not register incoming health professionals at all. Emigration data are based on immigration numbers in other OECD-countries, as emigration as such is not registered nor reported. |
| Figure 2a: Number of practicing physicians per 1000 inhabitants | OECD | 2019 | Figure 2a presents regional distribution of physicians. Maps are formatted according to the NUTS classification obtained from Eurostat or recent national data provided by the key country informants. The national average is derived from the OECD/Eurostat databases, and the EU average from the “Health at a Glance: Europe” report published in November 2020. |
| Figure 2b: Number of practicing nurses and midwives per 1000 inhabitants | OECD | 2018 | Figure 2b presents regional distrubution of nursing and midwifery. Maps are formatted according to the NUTS classification obtained from Eurostat or recent national data provided by the key country informants. The national average is derived from the OECD/Eurostat databases, and the EU average from the “Health at a Glance: Europe” report published in November 2020. |
| Statistic | Number | Data Year |
| Total population | 66 647 112 | 2019 |
| Life expectancy at birth | 81,3 | 2018 |
Source: Eurostat
| Licensed to practice | Practising | Professionally active | |||||
| Statistic | Number | Per 1000 inhabitants | Number | Per 1000 inhabitants | Number | Per 1000 inhabitants | Data year |
| Physicians | 260 311 | 3,91 | 196 784 | 2,95 | Not reported | Not reported | 2019 |
| > Generalist Medical Practitioner | Not reported | Not reported | 51 096 | 0,77 | Not reported | Not reported | 2019 |
| > Specialist Medical Practitioner | Not reported | Not reported | 145 367 | 2,18 | Not reported | Not reported | 2019 |
| Nurses | 660 213 | 9,91 | 517 000 (2018) | 7,78 (2018) | Not reported | Not reported | 2019 |
| Midwives | 37 255 | 0,56 | 31 500 (2018) | 0,47 (2018) | Not reported | Not reported | 2019 |
| Dentists | Not reported | Not reported | 35 568 | 0,53 | Not reported | Not reported | 2019 |
| Pharmacists | Not reported | Not reported | 58 640 | 0,88 | Not reported | Not reported | 2019 |
| Physiotherapists | Not reported | Not reported | 29 563 | 0,44 | Not reported | Not reported | 2018 |
Source: OECD
Not reported
| Name | Role | Website |
| NHS Electronic Staff Record System | Workforce Data : The NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR) provides an integrated HR and payroll system to NHS organisations. It is used by 99 per cent of NHS trusts and holds the data for about 1.4 million staff (about six per cent of the UK’s working population). | https://www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/plan/electronic-staff-record |
| Northern Ireland’s Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety | Workforce Data : NHS Northern Irland integrates the workforce data of the NHS workforce. | https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/ |
| Scottish Workforce Information Standard System | Workforce Data : SWISS is the main source of workforce statistics and brings together human resources (HR) and payroll information in one system. | https://www.ndc.scot.nhs.uk/National-Datasets/data.asp?SubID=35 |
| GP Payment system | The GP Payments system is deployed across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Isle of Man as part of the National Health Application and Infrastructure Services (NHAIS) system. It runs locally on 89 different servers, and provides NHS England with the tools for managing the calculation of payments to GP practices. | https://digital.nhs.uk/services/nhais/gp-payments# |
| Royal colleges | Royal College of Anaesthetists
Royal College of Emergency Medicine Royal College of General Practitioners Royal College of Nursing Royal College of Occupational Therapists Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Royal College of Ophthalmologists Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Royal College of Pathologists Royal College of Physicians Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Royal College of Psychiatrists Royal College of Radiologists Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Royal College of Surgeons of England |
https://www.rcoa.ac.uk/ |
| Professional associations | General Medical Council (GMC) – The GMC regulates doctors.
Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) – The NMC regulates nurses and midwives General Dental Council (GDC) – The GDC regulates dental professionals in the UK. This includes dentists, dental nurses, dental technicians, clinical dental technicians, dental hygienists, dental therapists and orthodontic therapists. General Optical Council (GOC) – The GOC regulates optometrists, dispensing opticians, student opticians and optical businesses. General Chiropractic Council (GCC) -The GCC regulates chiropractors. General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) -The GOsC regulates osteopaths. General Pharmaceutical Council (GPC) – The GPC is the regulator for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises in Great Britain. Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) The HCPC regulates 15 healthcare professionals: arts therapists, biomedical scientists, chiropodists / podiatrists, clinical scientists, dieticians, hearing aid dispensers, occupational therapists, operating department practitioners, orthoptists, paramedics, physiotherapists, practitioner psychologists, prosthetists / orthotists, radiographers, and speech and language therapists. From 1st August 2012, the HCPC also assumed responsibility for regulating social workers in England. |
http://www.gmc-uk.org/ |
| Trade unions | Association for Clinical Biochemistry & Laboratory Medicine
Boots Pharmacists’ Association (BPA) British Association of Dental Nurses British Association of Occupational Therapists Ltd British Dental Association British Dietetic Association British Medical Association British Orthoptic Society Trade Union Chartered Society of Physiotherapy College of Podiatry Confederation of British Surgery Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association Independent Federation of Nursing in Scotland Locum Doctors’ Association PDA Union Psychotherapy and Counselling Union Royal College of Midwives Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom Society of Union Employees (UNISON) |
http://www.acb.org.uk/ |
| Union of local government employers | Represents local authorities in negotiations with trade unions and the government over pay and conditions. We also advise local authorities and related employers on national negotiating machinery. | https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/workforce-and-hr-support/local-government-workforce |
| Name | Role | Website |
| Department of Health & Social Care (England) | In charge of health & Care strategy | https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care%20 |
| Department of Health (Scotland) | In charge of health strategy | https://www.gov.scot/health-and-social-care/ |
| Department of Health (Northern Irland) | In charge of health strategy | https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/ |
| Department of Health (Wales) | In charge of health strategy | http://www.wales.nhs.uk/welshgovernmentsdepartmentofhealthandsocialservicescontactus |
| Health Education England | Execution of the planning / exists to support the delivery of excellent healthcare and health improvement to the patients and public of England by ensuring that the workforce of today and tomorrow has the right numbers, skills, values and behaviours, at the right time and in the right place | https://www.hee.nhs.uk/ |
| NHS education for Scotland | Execution of the planning / NHSScotland’s education and training body ensuring that patients and their families get the best healthcare possible from well trained and educated staff. | https://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/ |
| Public health training (Northern Ireland) | Execution of the planning / The PHA is instrumental in the delivery of postgraduate training for doctors who want to specialise in public health medicine in Northern Ireland. | https://www.publichealth.hscni.net/directorate-public-health/professional-medical-issues/public-health-training |
In the 4 countries of UK, health workforce planning is a multi-stakeholder quantitative and qualitative exercise, based on models and profession surveys, studies, consultations, etc.
All above mentioned stakeholders and also society representatives (e.g. patient organisations) are consulted depending on the subject of the planning.
The population may also be thoroughly consulted.
Example: The government announced in the 2015 Spending Review that from 1 August 2017, all new nursing, midwifery and allied health professional students will receive funding and financial support through the standard student support system rather than through the current NHS bursary scheme.
Opened 7 Apr 2016 > Closed 30 Jun 2016: https://consultations.dh.gov.uk/workforce/healthcare-education-funding/
In the 4 countries of the UK, health workforce planning is a multi-stakeholder quantitative and qualitative exercise, based on models and profession surveys, studies, consultations, etc.
All above mentioned stakeholders and also society representatives (e.g. patient organisations) are consulted depending on the subject of the planning. Generally Academic individuals are selected as important experts staffing the consultation within the policy and workforce surveys.
ENGLAND
| Original name | NHS Long Term Plan and its implementation frameworks |
| Name in English | |
| Short description | The NHS Long Term Plan will make sure the NHS has a bright future ahead of it. We know that families work hard to pay their taxes and that’s why we will make sure every penny is invested on the things that matter most, from providing high quality lifesaving treatment and care for our patients and their families, to reducing pressure on our hard working NHS staff and investing in exciting new technologies. |
| Publication date | Long term plan: 7 January 2019
Implementation framework: 27 June 2019 Mental health implementation framework: 23 July 2019 |
| Link to full text | https://www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/ |
| Original name | Interim NHS People Plan |
| Name in English | |
| Short description | This interim People Plan lays the foundations we need to make this a reality. We
begin with how to make the NHS the best place to work and how creating a better leadership culture is critical to that change. |
| Publication date | 3 June 2019 |
| Link to full text | https://www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/publication/interim-nhs-people-plan/ |
| Original name | Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme |
| Name in English | |
| Short description |
NHS England is funding a £20,000 salary supplement to attract GP trainees to work in areas of the country where GP training places have been unfilled for a number of years. The scheme is open to GP trainees committed to working for three years in areas identified by the GP National Recruitment Office (GPNRO) as having the hardest to recruit to training places in England. |
| Publication date | N/A |
| Link to full text | https://www.england.nhs.uk/gp/the-best-place-to-work/starting-your-career/recruitment/ |
| Original name | The ‘golden hello’ incentive scheme for postgraduate nursing |
| Name in English | |
| Short description |
The Department of Health is introducing the ‘golden hello’ incentive scheme for postgraduate nursing students willing to become district nurses, which I announced on 9 May. These payment incentives offer £10,000 to future postgraduates who completed courses funded by loans in the 2018/19 academic year and are anticipated to be contingent on these graduates working in specific fields of the health and care sector including mental health, learning disability and community, including district, nursing. |
| Publication date | 23 October 2018 |
| Link to full text | https://www.parliament.uk/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/commons/2018-06-01/148797 |
| Original name | Expanding undergraduate medical education |
| Name in English | |
| Short description |
The government proposes to increase the number of student places at medical schools in England by 1 500. The first 500 places will be allocated to medical schools and will be available to students in September 2018. A further 1 000 places will be allocated through a competitive bidding process – this consultation seeks views on the allocation of these 1 000 places. |
| Publication date | 14 March 2017 |
| Link to full text | https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/expanding-undergraduate-medical-education |
| Original name | The national retention programme |
| Name in English | |
| Short description | The programme offers trusts a range of support, which now forms an essential part of delivering the interim NHS People Plan and the NHS Long Term Plan. Many actions trusts are taking make the NHS a better place to work – such as more support for new starters, better utilising the expertise of their experienced workforce and improving flexibility and career development. These actions and their impact on nursing retention will play an important part in achieving another key aim of the interim NHS People Plan – addressing urgent nursing workforce shortages |
| Publication date | |
| Link to full text | https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/national-retention-programme-two-years-on/
& https://improvement.nhs.uk/improvement-offers/improving-staff-retention/ |
SCOTLAND
| Original name | NHS 24 |
| Name in English | |
| Short description |
The NHS 24 111 service provides urgent health advice out of hours, when your GP practice or dentist is closed. It’s sometimes referred to as ‘unscheduled care services’. This means that the service is there for you, in the out of hours period when other sources of support, such as your doctor or dentist are closed. People across Scotland can access the service, on landlines and mobile phones free of charge, using a number that is short and easy to remember. |
| Publication date | N/A |
| Link to full text | https://www.nhs24.scot/ |
| Original name | GP Jobs |
| Name in English | |
| Short description | Communication campaign to recruit GPs |
| Publication date | |
| Link to full text | https://gpjobs.scot/ |
NORTHERN IRELAND
| Original name | Lifeline |
| Name in English | |
| Short description | If you require urgent primary medical care when your GP surgery is closed, telephone your nearest GP Out-of-Hours provider. GP Out-of-Hours services operate from 6pm each weekday evening and 24 hours on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Contact us first by telephone. Note that GP Out-of-Hours do not insert or remove stitches, and cannot do blood tests or x-rays. |
| Publication date | N/A |
| Link to full text | http://www.gpoutofhours.hscni.net/ |
| Original name | Health workforce planning NHS Northern Ireland |
| Name in English | |
| Short description | Northern Ireland pays special attention to planning the Workforce needs.
Recent reviews and plans include:
|
| Publication date | N/A |
| Link to full text | https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/articles/workforce-planning + https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/regional-hsc-workforce-planning-framework
& & |
| Original name | Doctors and nurses to be taken out of Tier 2 visa cap |
| Name in English | |
| Short description |
As part of a long-term government plan for the NHS, doctors and nurses are to be excluded from the cap on skilled worker visas. The move will mean there are no restriction on the numbers of doctors and nurses who can be employed through the Tier 2 visa route – giving the ability to recruit more international doctors and nurses to provide outstanding patient care when required. |
| Publication date | 15 June 2018 |
| Link to full text | https://www.gov.uk/government/news/doctors-and-nurses-to-be-taken-out-of-tier-2-visa-cap
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration |
| Name (original language) | Performance of UK National Health Service compared with other high income countries: observational study |
| Name in English | |
| Short description |
Conclusions The NHS showed pockets of good performance, including in health service outcomes, but spending, patient safety, and population health were all below average to average at best. Taken together, these results suggest that if the NHS wants to achieve comparable health outcomes at a time of growing demographic pressure, it may need to spend more to increase the supply of labour and long term care and reduce the declining trend in social spending to match levels of comparable countries. |
| Publication date | 27 November 2019- BMJ 2019;367:l6326 |
| Link to full text | https://www.bmj.com/content/367/bmj.l6326 |
| Name (original language) | National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE) |
| Name in English | |
| Short description | The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides national guidance and advice to improve health and social care. |
| Publication date | NA |
| Link to full text | https://www.nice.org.uk/ |
| Original name | Performance of UK National Health Service compared with other high income countries: observational study |
| Name in English | |
| Short description | GP Clusters replaced the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) in 2015 as the mechanism to drive quality improvement across primary care. Clusters are composed of Practice Quality Leads (one per practice), who have direct involvement and influence in improving the quality of all health and social care services within their locality. With dedicated time and funding, they play a key role in shaping services and quality planning, based on population needs. |
| Publication date | N/A |
| Link to full text | https://www.gov.scot/publications/improving-together-national-framework-quality-gp-clusters-scotland/pages/4/
https://gpjobs.scot/putting-general-practice-and-primary-care-at-the-heart-of-the-healthcare-system/ |
SCOTLAND
| Original name | Student finance reforms |
| Name in English | |
| Short description |
By extending the student finance reforms, universities will be able to create up to 10 000 more nursing, midwifery and allied health degree places during this Parliament. This will mean that NHS employers, as well as those in the independent and care sectors, will have a larger pool of highly qualified home-grown staff available. In turn, universities will be able to accept more applicants who get the right grades than they do currently. And we will be able to provide more up front living cost support – typically 25% or more – to full-time students. The benefits of reform will accrue not just to students but to the NHS. As domestic student numbers increase, we will be able to reduce the reliance on expensive agency or overseas staff, allowing more money to be freed up and put into frontline patient care. |
| Publication date | 2018 |
| Link to full text | https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/career-planning/study-and-training/considering-or-university/financial-support-university |
| Original name | Return to practice: nursing |
| Name in English | |
| Short description | Experienced nurses who want to come back to the profession have much to offer patients, employers and society. Coming back to the profession has never been easier with courses and training on hand to ease the transition and build skills. |
| Publication date | N/A |
| Link to full text | ENGLAND: https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/return-practice-nursing
https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/return-practice-nursing/general-practice-nursing-programme NORTHERN IRELAND: http://www.nursingandmidwiferycareersni.hscni.net/returning-to-practice/ WALES: http://www.weds.wales.nhs.uk/return-to-practice-for-nurses-midwives-a |
| Original name | Allied Health Professions
At the forefront of improving care – a year in review 2017/2018 |
| Name in English | |
| Short description | In the last two decades, healthcare has been moving from being predominantly profession-centric care, delivered in acute settings, to patient centric, team-based care increasingly delivered in community settings. The Allied Health Professions (AHPs), with their long history of team working, patient-centredness, kindness, compassion and reflection on practice have been well placed to be role models for these changes, all of which better serve patients and their families and acknowledge them as equal partners in decision making. |
| Publication date | N/A |
| Link to full text | https://www.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/documents/AHP%20National%20Report%202017-18.pdf |
| Original name | Spiritual Care |
| Name in English | |
| Short description | Spiritual Care is person centred care which seeks to help people (re)discover hope, resilience and inner strength in times of illness, injury, transition and loss. |
| Publication date | N/A |
| Link to full text | https://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/education-and-training/by-discipline/spiritual-care.aspx |
| Original name | Career boost for almost half a million frontline NHS staff |
| Name in English | |
| Short description | Funding for a £1,000 personal development budget for every nurse, midwife and allied health professional to support their personal learning and development needs over three years |
| Publication date | 3 September 2019 |
| Link to full text | https://www.gov.uk/government/news/career-boost-for-almost-half-a-million-frontline-nhs-staff |
Not reported
| Original name | Interim NHS People Plan |
| Name in English | N/A |
| Short description | This interim People Plan lays the foundations we need to make this a reality. We
begin with how to make the NHS the best place to work and how creating a better leadership culture is critical to that change. |
| Publication date | 3 June 2019 |
| Link to full text | https://www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/publication/interim-nhs-people-plan/ |
| Original name | Flying Start NHS |
| Name in English | N/A |
| Short description | Flying Start NHS® is an online, learner-directed, national development programme, designed to support/develop newly qualified nurses, midwives and allied health professionals in their first year of post registration practice. Flying Start NHS® will assist the practitioner’s journey through their KSF Foundation Gateway. |
| Publication date | N/A |
| Link to full text | https://nesvleprdstore.blob.core.windows.net/nesndpvlecmsprdblob/9208e658-ce61-4b68-ba6c-b6a7e9352a70_Flying%20start%20definative%20guide%202019.pdf?sv=2018-03-28&sr=b&sig=08q%2BDH8tKD0cOF9R2w4MxQHnvC%2FIrxvBWK6ahTl8urs%3D&st=2020-03-25T00%3A44%3A28Z&se=2020-03-25T01%3A49%3A28Z&sp=r |
| Original name | Staff well being programme |
| Name in English | N/A |
| Short description | Some NHS-employers (Trusts) have developed a wellbeing programme.
e.g. Northumbria hospitals offer a wide range of services to help their staff get physically active and improve their mental wellbeing. They also offer training for line managers on how to ensure they provide a healthy workplace. |
| Publication date | N/A |
| Link to full text | https://www.nuh.nhs.uk/staff-wellbeing/ |
Not reported
List of sources specific to this country:
Time to care. Securing a future for the hospital workforce in the UK, Deloitte Feb. 2019
Health Workforce Planning – Models, Tools and Processes in Five Countries – An Evidence Review
https://www.hrb.ie/fileadmin/publications_files/Health_Workforce_Planning_Models_2016.pdf
Published by: Health Research Board, Dublin © Health Research Board 2016
Last updated: 10 October 2020
The country fiches are produced under the EU Health Programme 2014-2020 under a service contract with the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (Chafea) acting under the mandate from the European Commission. The information and views set out in the country sheets are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission/Executive Agency. The Commission/Executive Agency does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this study.
Neither the Commission/Executive Agency nor any person acting on the Commission’s/Executive Agency’s behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.
This website was produced under the EU Health Programme 2014-2020 under a service contract with the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (Chafea) acting under the mandate from the European Commission. The information and views set out in this website are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission/Executive Agency. The Commission/Executive Agency does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this website. Neither the Commission/Executive Agency nor any person acting on the Commission's / Executive Agency's behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.