Health Management and Policy Alert

Specialty, associate specialist and locally employed doctors workplace experiences survey: initial findings report

General Medical Council -
This report contains the initial results of a survey of Specialty and Associate Specialist (SAS) and Locally Employed (LE) doctors – the one in six UK doctors who are not GPs, consultants nor in training roles. The survey founds that 30 per cent of SAS doctors and 23 per cent of their LE counterparts had been bullied, undermined or harassed at work in the last year, either by colleagues or by patients and their families.

• Report
• General Medical Council - press release

How to build effective teams in general practice

The King's Fund -
This guide draws on insights from our research, policy analysis and leadership practice to outline ways in which practices can create and sustain effective teams, as they come together to form primary care networks.

• The King's Fund - publications

Measuring progress: commitments to support and expand the mental health workforce in England

British Medical Association -
This report finds that recent commitments to support and expand the mental health workforce have fallen short of their goals. To assess progress against these commitments and identify where further action is required, the report analyses workforce data and a survey of health care professionals working in the sector.

• Report
• British Medical Association - publications

Junior doctors 2018 contract refresh guidance

NHS Employers - 
This guidance, published in partnership with the British Medical Association, aims to support employers to appoint and develop flexible training champions. The champion will play a strategic role in promoting and improving existing support for less than full-time trainee doctors and dentists, advocating for them where necessary. The ultimate intention behind the introduction of the role was to create a shift in culture within the NHS, to give trainees more flexibility, and to offer them support as they carry out their training and other commitments they may have.

• Guidance
• Summary

 

A competency framework for designated prescribing practitioners

Royal Pharmaceutical Society - 

This framework supports individuals across all independent prescribing professions, training providers and universities to understand what competencies must be met to provide safe and effective prescribing supervision to independent prescribers. Regulatory changes in 2019 mean that experienced non-medical prescribers of any professional background can become responsible for a trainee prescriber's period of learning in practice.

• Framework
• More detail

The state of medical education and practice in the UK: 2019

General Medical Council -
This report highlights changing approaches to work-life balance and career development which impact on UK health services’ ability to plan for patient demand. Against a backdrop of rising workloads and the need to recruit and retain a sustainable medical workforce, the report finds doctors moving away from traditional career and training paths. Among notable trends is the rise in the number of doctors choosing to spend time working as a locum, practising medicine abroad, or even taking a year out, rather than going straight into specialty or GP training after the completion of their initial training.

• Report
• General Medical Council - press release

Stopping the staff we need? Migration choices in the 2019 general election

Nuffield Trust -
This briefing looks back at how migrants and migration policy have shaped the care workforce across the UK in recent decades, drawing on new figures obtained from the Office for National Statistics. It assesses the risks different parties’ policies pose and how these could be addressed to ensure that we do not stop the staff we need.

• Briefing
• Nuffield Trust - publications

Falling short: the NHS workforce challenge

The Health Foundation -
This report analyses the changes in the size and composition of the NHS workforce in England in the context of long-term trends, policy priorities and future projected need. It builds on previous reports to provide analysis of longer-term trends and insights into the changing NHS staff profile. It focuses specifically on the NHS workforce issues that have been identified in recent years: nursing shortages, and shortages of staff in general practice and primary care.

• Report
• The Health Foundation - publications

District nursing today: the view of district nurse team leaders in the UK

Queen's Nursing Institute -
This report warns that the UK’s district nurse workforce is under threat due to long-term underinvestment in training, education and skills, which could pose a threat to patient safety. It reveals an evolving healthcare workforce crisis, set against rising demand for district nursing services across all UK regions.

• Report
• Queen's Nursing Institute - news

The surgeon as an expert witness: a guide to good practice

Royal College of Surgeons -
This guidance sets out the role a surgeon should play when acting as an expert witness in civil, criminal and coroners’ cases. The guidance comes after two independent reviews highlighted a need to improve the quality and consistency of expert witnesses in gross negligence manslaughter cases.

• Guidance
• Royal College of Surgeons - press release