Evidence gaps in workforce research are holding back healthcare improvements, say Tara Lamont, Cat Chatfield, and Kieran Walshe
What is the optimal skill mix for virtual wards? Do new roles such as clinical pharmacists or advanced practitioners act as substitutes for, or additions to, existing staff? What works to retain staff? How much do current rates of attrition and turnover cost the NHS and social care?
These are just some of the important questions that surfaced from the first health and care workforce forum convened in March 2023 by Health Services Research UK (HSR UK). Policy makers, regulators, service leaders, and researchers came together to discuss what we already know about different workforce areas, gaps in evidence, and what we need to support more and better research in this critical area. The benefits of this exchange were clear one healthcare leader pointed out that what were “known knowns” to the research community, such as high quality evidence on the relation
Ending performance-related payments for NHS GPs in Scotland was associated with a decline in the quality of some aspects of care compared with England where financial incentives have continued, finds a study published by The BMJ today.
A staggering 12,000 GPs - twice the number the government has promised to add to the general practice workforce by 2024 - plan to quit direct patient care within five years, a major poll suggests.