Universities ‘need to be embedded’ in nurse workforce planning
A coalition of education leaders has called on the new government to progress reforms to nursing and midwifery education, to support the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.
The University Alliance, an association whose members collectively train a third of all nursing students in England, has reiterated calls for universities to be embedded in health and social care workforce planning.
“Professional and technical universities stand ready to serve our nation”
Vanessa Wilson
It comes as part of a new briefing paper, Let’s Get Technical: The First 100 Days, which has identified key policies for the Labour government to undertake to address some of the most pressing national issues, including the workforce crisis in healthcare.
One key ambition set out in the paper is for universities to have a more central role in NHS and social care workforce planning.
The document noted that Labour had committed to tackling the workforce crisis in the sector by delivering the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, which was introduced under the previous government.
Central to this plan were ambitions to increase the number of nurses and nursing associates being trained.
For example, it pledged to increase the number of nurse training places by 80% to 53,858 by 2031-32.
The University Alliance argued in its paper that, to achieve these goals, “workforce planning must actively involve universities at the national, regional and local levels”.
As such, it set out two actions needed from the new Labour government in its first 100 days.
The first was a renewed call for a cross-government health education taskforce to be created, to coordinate delivery of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.
The taskforce would bring together representatives from the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care to meet alongside representatives from NHS England, health regulators, local government and higher education providers.
Examples of the work it could undertake include finding ways to increase the capacity of clinical placements and coordinating activity to bolster student recruitment.
Meanwhile, the University Alliance also proposed that the government issued guidance to give universities and colleges a stronger voice in integrated care systems (ICSs) and integrated care boards (ICBs).
“We are calling for more strategic involvement of educators, especially in relation to the development of new roles, including non-healthcare roles, to deliver the healthcare workforce for the future and transform the NHS and social care,” said the paper.
Separately, the document also outlined some long-term goals for the new government.
For example, it urged the government to progress reforms to nursing and midwifery education.
Specifically, it highlighted a desire by universities to move towards an “outcomes-focused” curriculum which does not place so much emphasis on the number of hours a student completes in clinical practice.
“This government will make sure the NHS has the staff it needs to be there for all of us when we need it”
Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson
The paper said: “Alliance universities could educate significantly more healthcare professionals if our regulatory framework was based on outcomes and competency rather than time served.
“Reducing overly prescriptive practice hour requirements will free up much-needed placement capacity.”
Health education leaders previously told Nursing Times that universities supported the move to an outcomes-focused curriculum, to support student nurses through their courses more easily.
It comes as the UK’s nursing regulator is currently undertaking a review into nursing and midwifery students’ practice learning requirements.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has said that the independent research would help inform whether any changes need to be made to its current clinical placement requirements, including the number of hours students need to complete.
Meanwhile, the University Alliance also called on the government to provide access to additional capital funding for universities to invest in scaling up their simulated education and training provision.
The NMC now permits up to 600 hours of clinical placement to take place in a simulated setting – double what was previously allowed.
The paper said this regulatory reform had enabled students to practice rare or risky procedures, as well as everyday skills, “in safe but highly realistic environments before using them on real patients”.
“Continued support is needed to grow simulated provision – taking further pressure off clinical placement providers,” the document noted.
Vanessa Wilson, chief executive of the University Alliance, said: “Professional and technical universities stand ready to serve our nation.
“They have the ‘fresh thinking and new ideas’ the government is looking for in abundance and should be at the heart of our national renewal.”
Ms Wilson added that the government “should fully exploit what universities can offer the country”.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The NHS has been facing chronic workforce shortages for years and we must be honest that bringing in the staff we need will take time.
“We are committed to training the staff we need to get patients seen on time and will work closely with partners in education to do so.
“This government will make sure the NHS has the staff it needs to be there for all of us when we need it.”
