Workforce: recruitment, training and retention in health and social care

Health and Social Care Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 23 Nov 2021 Closed: 26 Apr 2023 Parliament page
Reasons behind staff leaving the health and social care sectors and how to tackle them will be examined in a new inquiry. Workforce recruitment and training will also be explored. The Committee has heard repeatedly that more staff will be needed to meet future demand and deal with the backlog … Read more
38 Recommendations
35 Conclusions
1 Report
6 Oral sessions
1 Letter
6 Events
Activity timeline 15 events
21 Apr
2023
Report published
6 Sep
2022
Correspondence
25 Jul
2022
Report published
28 Jun
2022
Oral evidence
28 Jun
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 16, Palace of Westminster
7 Jun
2022
Oral evidence
7 Jun
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
24 May
2022
Oral evidence
24 May
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
11 May
2022
Oral evidence
11 May
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Macmillan Room, Portcullis House
22 Mar
2022
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 6 sessions
28 Jun 2022
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Chevonne Baker · Right at Home UK Dr Claire Fuller · Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System Dr Hugh Porter · Nottingham City Integrated Care Partnership Matthew Taylor · Good Work Review Saffron Cordery · NHS Providers Sarah Sweeney · National Voices
7 Jun 2022
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Amanda Pritchard · NHS England Matthew Style · Department of Health and Social Care Michelle Dyson · Department for Education Professor Stephen Powis · NHS England Rt Hon Sajid Javid · Department of Health and Social Care
24 May 2022
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Danny Mortimer · NHS Employers Dr Denise Chaffer · Royal College of Nursing Dr Navina Evans · NHS England Gill Walton · Royal College of Midwives Ian Trenholm · Care Quality Commission (CQC) Professor Em Wilkinson-Brice · NHS England Ravi Sharma · Royal Pharmaceutical Society Shawn Charlwood · British Dental Association (BDA) General Dental Practice Committee Simon Williams · Local Government Association
11 May 2022
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Dr Latifa Patel · British Medical Association (BMA) Isaac Samuels, Health and social care community campaigner and social care recipient Lara Akinnawonu · Cardiff University Professor Colin Melville · General Medical Council Professor Hazel Scott · University of Liverpool Professor Malcolm Reed · Medical Schools Council Professor Roger Kirby · Royal Society of Medicine Professor Scott Wilkes · University of Sunderland Sophie Weaver, Town councillor and social care recipient Trevor Wright, lived experience witness
22 Mar 2022
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Dr Vishal Sharma · Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust Dr Wen Wang · University of Leicester Jacqui McBurnie · NHS England and NHS Improvement Menopause Group Nina Hemmings · Nuffield Trust Prema Fairburn-Dorai · Primary Homecare in Suffolk Professor Carol Atkinson · Manchester Metropolitan University Professor Carol Woodhams · University of Surrey Professor Dame Clare Gerada · NHS Practitioner Health Shilpa Ross · The King's Fund Wayne Jaffe · University Hospital of North Midlands NHS Trust
1 Mar 2022
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Chris Hopson · NHS England Dr Emma Hayward · University of Leicester Gamu Nyasoro · Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Jane Ashcroft CBE · Anchor Hanover Lara Bywater · LDC Care Nicola McQueen · NHS Professionals Oonagh Smyth · Skills for Care Professor Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard · University of Birmingham Rachael Dodgson · Dimensions Sarah McClinton · Association of Directors of Adult Social Services
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Third Report - Workforce: recruitment, training and retention in… HC 115 25 Jul 2022 73 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
34 results
Clear
4 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Re-recruiting medical retirees challenging without addressing pensions and poor workplace cultures.
It will not be possible to re-recruit those who have voluntarily surrendered their medical licences without addressing the factors which caused them to do so. For many retirees, this means addressing pensions and the development of “retire and return” policies, … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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5 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Formal re-entry programmes needed for secondary care doctors returning after long breaks.
Formal re-entry programmes, akin to those which already exist for primary care, should be developed by the NHS, Health Education England, the General Medical Council, and other relevant bodies for secondary care doctors who wish to return to work after … Read more
Government Response
Formal re-entry programmes, akin to those which already exist for primary care, should be developed by the NHS, Health Education England, the General Medical Council, and other relevant bodies for secondary care doctors who wish to return to work after a long break.
Department of Health and Social Care
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6 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Consult relevant bodies to mobilise more NHS volunteers and consider necessary legal changes.
Given the success of training to task during the pandemic, the Government must consult with relevant bodies to explore further opportunities to mobilise this willing group of volunteers. They must also consider whether further changes to the law are necessary … Read more
Government Response
The government response is a copy of the recommendation.
Department of Health and Social Care
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11 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Require Health Education England to publish recruitment plan with targets for midwifery ethnic diversity.
Improving diversity in the recruitment of midwives will improve the standard of care that black, Asian, mixed-race, and minority ethnic women receive throughout pregnancy, birth, and the post-natal period. Health Education England should set forth a recruitment plan with clear … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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12 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Require NHS England to publish interim figures on 75% continuity of care target progress by 2024.
NHS England must publish interim figures reporting on how close it is to achieving its target of 75% of women from black and minority communities and a similar percentage of women from the most deprived groups receiving continuity of care … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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13 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Require GMC to introduce 'green list' for international medical graduates to boost NHS recruitment.
Administrative barriers are often placed in the way of talented international medical graduates who wish to work in the NHS. In particular, it can be difficult for them to join the specialist register. To streamline this process, and boost recruitment … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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14 Recommendation
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Require Government to invest in and expand the Medical Training Initiative ethically for recruitment.
International recruitment from the developing world must be done in an ethical way, and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges’ Medical Training Initiative, which recruits international medical graduates to work in the NHS for a fixed-term period with a specific … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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15 Recommendation
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Require Government to revise proof for adult dependant visas for health and social care workers.
Many health and social care workers have caring responsibilities, including for adult relatives. The Government must commit to revising the amount of proof that must be provided to bring an adult dependant into the UK through the Sole Responsibility and … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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16 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
End practice of Tier 5 medical staff paying and reclaiming the NHS surcharge.
The practice of requiring medical staff entering the country on Tier 5 visas to pay and reclaim the NHS surcharge should be scrapped.
Department of Health and Social Care
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17 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Grant international medical graduate GP trainees leave to remain upon training completion.
All international medical graduate GP trainees should be offered leave to remain in the UK upon successful completion of GP speciality training. This would encourage them to live and work in the UK, protecting the NHS’s investment and boosting the … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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18 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Introduce default visa extension for international GP trainees and support GP practice sponsors.
There should be more support both for newly qualified international GPs and their would-be employers. There should be a default visa extension for six months after the international medical graduate’s expected GP training completion date, to give them time to … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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19 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
NHS staff welfare facilities, including food and rest areas, remain inadequate.
The NHS must ensure that all staff have access to adequate facilities. At the minimum, all staff should have access to 24/7 hot food and drinks, free parking, and places to rest, store their belongings, shower and change, and take … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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20 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Review provision of affordable, flexible childcare for health and social care staff.
The Government should review the provision of affordable and flexible childcare for people working in the health and social care sector, and assess whether it is possible to improve it.
Government Response
The government agrees with the statement but responds by detailing broader cost of living support, affordable housing initiatives, and innovative transport options for care workers, rather than committing to a specific review of affordable and flexible childcare for the health and social care sector.
Department of Health and Social Care
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22 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
NHS flexible working provisions remain insufficient, prompting staff to seek agency work.
Whilst we welcome changes made to the NHS contract that give every NHS worker a “day one” right to request flexible working, it is clear that this has been insufficient to make flexible working a daily reality in the NHS. … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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23 Recommendation
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Award all Agenda for Change NHS staff a pay rise accounting for cost-of-living.
It is unacceptable that some NHS nurses are struggling to feed their families, pay their rent, and travel to work. To reflect the crucial work that they do to keep the NHS running, and to improve recruitment and retention, the … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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24 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Fair pay for Agenda for Change nursing and midwifery roles requires job description review.
The NHS must review the job descriptions used for nursing and midwifery roles under Agenda for Change to ensure that nurses and midwives are being paid fairly for the safety critical roles that they deliver.
Department of Health and Social Care
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28 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Current UDA-contract system unfit for purpose in NHS dental services.
The current UDA-contract system is not fit for purpose, and urgent reform is needed to boost recruitment and retention in NHS dental services. We will return to this issue in a forthcoming inquiry into dental services.
Department of Health and Social Care
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29 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Integrated and funded pharmacy workforce plan essential for primary care optimisation.
There is an opportunity to better utilise the pharmacy workforce, and in doing so, to optimise workloads across primary care, reduce pressure on general practice and hospitals, and support integrated care systems. This optimisation will not be possible without an … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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31 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Cap on international medical student places should be lifted for expansion.
As part of the expansion of medical schools, the cap on the number of medical school places offered to international students should be lifted by allowing full registration at the end of the Primary Medical Qualification and asking international students … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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36 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Commission independent review of postgraduate medical training duration, flexibility, and specialty places.
We believe that the General Medical Council’s emphasis on acquiring competency in postgraduate training, rather than focusing on “time-served” is the right way to go. The Government must commission an independent review of all postgraduate training to consider whether it … Read more
Government Response
The Government must commission an independent review of all postgraduate training to consider whether it is possible to i) reduce the time it takes to obtain a postgraduate qualification, whilst maintaining rigorous patient safety and professional standards; ii) ensure that those who train less-than-full time are not penalised for
Department of Health and Social Care
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38 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Systemic racism and racist bullying persist within the National Health Service.
We were horrified to hear clear evidence of racism within the NHS, with some staff subjected to racist bullying, harassment, and abuse from colleagues and patients. This behaviour is unacceptable anywhere, and we condemn it expressly here. Tackling racism is … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with these recommendations, and encourages Local Authorities to evaluate the risk of modern slavery in their adult social care supply chains.
Department of Health and Social Care
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39 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
NHS senior leadership accountability for reducing staff racist discrimination is insufficient
There should be greater accountability from NHS senior and middle management for the reduction of incidents of racist discrimination amongst staff. This should include explicit equality, diversity, and inclusion responsibilities in senior leadership job role descriptions, against which the performance … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with these recommendations, and encourages Local Authorities to evaluate the risk of modern slavery in their adult social care supply chains.
Department of Health and Social Care
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40 Recommendation
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Commission a What Works Centre for discrimination issues in public sector workforces
The NHS is not the only public sector organisation which finds itself facing the challenge of tackling racism. Given that addressing inequalities is a cross-government priority, the Government must commission a What Works Centre to research issues of discrimination in … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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41 Recommendation
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Fund Skills for Care to pilot Workplace Racial Equality Standard in independent social care
We welcome the roll-out of a pilot Social Care Workplace Racial Equality Standard to some local authorities and encourage the Government to extend the Social Care Workforce: recruitment, training and retention in health and social care 63 Workplace Racial Equality … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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42 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Independent review panels achieve referral parity between white and ethnic minority doctors
The NHS has shown through the pilot scheme in the East of England that setting up independent review panels to review anonymised case information before cases are formally referred to the General Medical Council results in parity of referral between … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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43 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Nursing and Midwifery Council should introduce parallel targets on complaints and discrimination
We welcome the General Medical Council’s new targets to eliminate disproportionate complaints from employers about ethnic minority doctors (by 2026) and eradicate disadvantage and discrimination in medical education and training (by 2031). The Nursing and Midwifery Council must introduce parallel … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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44 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
NHS requires strategy to attract and retain more women into surgery
Talented women are missing out on the opportunity to become surgeons because of a lack of support and role models. The NHS should develop a strategy to attract and retain more women into surgery.
Department of Health and Social Care
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45 Recommendation
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Report progress on closing gender pay gaps in medicine against review recommendations
It is unacceptable that the gender pay gap persists in medicine. The Government should make a report on progress made against recommendations on how to close this gap made in ‘Mend the Gap: The Independent Review into Gender Pay Gaps … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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46 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
NHS England needs national menopause strategy to retain senior staff
NHS England should develop and implement a national menopause strategy focused on the retention of senior staff who may be reducing their hours, leaving management or supervisory roles, or retiring earlier than intended, because of a lack of support around … Read more
Government Response
The response discusses the UK Ethical Code of Practice for employing international health and care staff and ensuring they don't pay fees, which does not address the recommendation about a national menopause strategy for retaining senior staff.
Department of Health and Social Care
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47 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
NHS complaints procedure needs improvement to support and protect doctors
The NHS should look to improve its complaints procedure to ensure that doctors are supported throughout any investigation or inquiry, including to the General Medical Council, and are protected in particular from spurious, vexatious, or discriminatory complaints. Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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48 Recommendation
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Consider reforms to Medical Act 1983 for simplifying GMC regulatory processes
The Government should consider whether reforms can be made to the Medical Act 1983 to ensure that General Medical Council regulatory processes can be simplified to reassure both the public and clinicians, without the loss of accountability.
Department of Health and Social Care
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49 Conclusion
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
NHS commitment to positive working cultures and zero-tolerance policies is essential.
The NHS must commit to the creation of positive working cultures and inclusive work environments. They should do this through creating and enforcing zero tolerance policies for harassment, discrimination, and bullying towards all staff, with targeted policies for staff who … Read more
Department of Health and Social Care
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55 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Social care staff shortages severely impact the provision of good-quality care.
We have heard evidence that staff shortages are having an impact on the ability of social care staff to provide good-quality care to the people they support. Lara Bywater told us that in the 20 years she has been running … Read more
Government Response
The government notes that this is not a recommendation and states that the issues raised are covered in other responses.
Department of Health and Social Care
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56 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - Workforce: recruitm…
Ensure Fair Cost of Care calculations pay social care workers Band 3 NHS rates.
We welcome the Fair Cost of Care exercises as an opportunity to address the underfunding of the social care sector. However, these exercises must not be used as an excuse to reinforce the low pay which is endemic in the … Read more
Government Response
The government states it has excluded this recommendation from its response because it is a duplication of recommendation 54.
Department of Health and Social Care
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Government Response AI assessment · 48 of 38 classified
Accepted 6
Accepted in Part 4
Acknowledged 13
Deferred 5
Not Addressed 9
Rejected 11
Total 38 recs + 35 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
6 Sep 2022 Correspondence from the Chief Executive of NHS England on Workforce: recruitment, training and retention in the NHS and Social Care dated 10.08.22
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