Education leaders sound warning on future of healthcare

The Government’s ambitious plans to strengthen the NHS can only be achieved if significant changes are made to healthcare education and training now, warns Universities UK (UUK) and University of Northampton is already working to meet some of these changes.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) was published by the UK Government in June this year, with the aim of addressing NHS staffing shortages across three key pillars: train, retain and reform. With opposition parties also signalling a commitment to invest in healthcare professionals over the coming years, now is a pivotal moment to secure the future of the NHS in England. Public support was demonstrated in recent research by Ipsos Mori for the Health Foundation which showed people’s top priorities for the health service are expanding and supporting the NHS workforce.

The plan’s success however, hinges on a joint endeavour between education and healthcare providers, with universities both educating the next generation of healthcare professionals, and driving innovation that can improve health outcomes.

UUK says a number of challenges still need to be overcome if the LTWP is to meet its objectives and prevent the talent pipeline from drying up. This includes a need for higher education to expand health education capacity, and for a culture shift to take place within the NHS to place more value on students and educators.

UUK is setting out a five-point plan to meet the objectives of the LTWP:

Boosting student recruitment

With applications to nursing, midwifery and allied health professional (AHP) courses declining, UUK is calling on government for a major national recruitment campaign produced in partnership with universities, colleges, schools and the NHS.

Increasing the numbers of educators

Shortages in clinical academic and teaching staff is a limiting factor for expansion. Currently 50% of healthcare educators are over 50 years old. An urgent review is needed of educator roles and careers, to attract different kinds of staff into roles. A cultural shift is also needed within the NHS towards students and educators to make space for them and ensure they feel valued.

Investing in new facilities and infrastructure including new technologies*

Expanding capacity to boost learner numbers will require extending university and college facilities as well as opening new schools. This means additional teaching space, flexible space and exam facilities. There are opportunities to extend capacity through learning technology such as immersive environments, simulation and robotics, all of which requires capital investment.

Increasing placement capacity

The availability, quality and distribution of placements must continue to be a focus for government, the NHS and universities and colleges. Closer working between the NHS in England and universities is required to diversify placement capacity in community settings such as care homes and schools, as well as increasing hospital placements.

Improving learner experience and reducing attrition

Many health courses experience high rates of attrition that continue into early careers. Common factors include cost of living pressures and travel and accommodation expenses. Additional wellbeing and mental health support, more regular check-ins, better coaching and mentoring support is necessary. Financial support should be inflation linked and students from low-income families should receive more help.

*Dr Jacob Saranga, Dean of the Faculty of Health, Education and Society at University of Northampton, says: “The learning experience for health and social care students at our University is swiftly evolving to keep at pace with the HE sector, embedding clinical simulation opportunities that incorporates virtual and augmented reality teaching technologies. We are investing in clinical simulation that is making students’ class-based learning as ‘close to reality’ as possible, as ‘Maya’ (a wireless birthing mannequin) is doing for our Midwifery cohorts.

“We fully support the recommendations made by Universities UK to transform healthcare education in this country. With the right conditions, universities like ours can provide the required workforce , expertise and technology needed for the NHS to thrive for decades to come.”

Professor Alistair Fitt, Universities UK’s health policy lead, and Vice-Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, said: “With political consensus on the need to significantly increase the number of healthcare professionals over the coming years, now is a pivotal moment to protect the future of the NHS in England.

“To develop a well-staffed and efficient NHS, the UK Government must work closely with universities to fund the plan over the next 15 years, spanning general elections and spending reviews. We must take bold decisions to ensure the conditions are right for universities to train staff adequately, including on funding and capital investment, staffing and student recruitment.

“For the government’s ambitions for our national health service to come to fruition requires a step change in healthcare education.”

Higher education’s role in the delivery of the LTWP includes innovative approaches to education and training to identify future skills gaps, recruiting from more diverse communities, introducing new routes into the profession, new clinical roles and advances in technology.