Outside expertise in workforce planning should be brought into the NHS to help improve its record on matching staff numbers to patients' needs, MPs have been told.
Independent health economists could help the NHS make its workforce planning more accurate, the parliamentary health select committee was told last week in the latest evidence session of its inquiry into workforce planning.
Susan Hodgetts, chief executive of the Institute of Healthcare Management, the professional body for health service managers, said health economists would give workforce planning a “reality check.”
In prepared written evidence, she said, “There is a case for workforce modelling to be scrutinised by health economists for a reality check. It is likely that health economists could have predicted the current mismatch between planned levels of manpower and the economic development of the NHS.”
Giving oral evidence, Ms Hodgetts, said, “Workforce planning is essential if you think of the kind of budgets we are working with. The mismatch has happened because of the lack of communication between national planners and local planners.
“We have some people who have a very high degree of skills in workforce planning and we have people who are working locally in workforce planning who don't have those skills.”
Training needs were not being met, said Michael Sobanja, chief executive of the NHS Alliance, the body that represents primary care professionals.
“Managers have played their part in enhancing services to patients,” he said in the evidence session. “But we don't know how well management in the NHS is doing. We need a higher quality of primary care management, not more managers.”
The witnesses were asked why it was widely perceived that managers were in conflict with doctors and other clinicians, particularly over the control of reforms.
Ms Hodgetts said that there was a fundamental difference between the two because clinicians were subject to rigorous training and continuous professional development but managers were not.
“The importance is for managers to gain credibility with clinicians,” she said. “National health organisations across the piece are erratic in terms of how they ask managers to be qualified. Until we get something that is specific for managers, we are not going to bridge that gap.”
Jonathan Michael, chief executive of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in London, who is also a doctor by background and a renal specialist, argued that clinicians and managers could work well together.
“We should be getting more clinicians to play a much bigger role in management,” said Dr Michael, also giving evidence.
“My background does make it easier for me to communicate with the medics on the workforce. You understand the language, and you have what is called domain knowledge. It's sometimes easier to give uncomfortable messages to clinical colleagues if they feel you have been there yourself.”
The chief executive of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, Phil Gray, also giving evidence, said, “Allied health professions have been subject to poor guesswork and not workforce planning.”
The inquiry continues.
