A message from our CEO, Sandy Mather and President, Steve Mathieu

It’stwoweekssincewespentthreeactionpackeddaystogetherinBirminghamatSOA23anditsfairtosaythatwerestillfeeling the impact! We were all energised by spending time together Time was spent catching up with old friends making new connections, linking back up with our industry partners and starting new collaborations with others Together we learnt about the latest cutting edge science, new applications in clinical practice, patient stories, quality improvement and the latest technologies andresearch Welearnttogether,laughedtogetherasamulti-professionalintensivecarecommunityandrenewedournetworks

WecameawayfromSOA23enthusedandrefreshedandnotingthedatesforLiverpoolSOA24inourdiaries(its18-20June2024 incaseyouwanttoputitinyourdiarytoo!) After opening SOA23 with a multi-professional plenary session on Workforce which involved representation from each of our Professional Advisory Groups and other keynote speakers, we felt poised and ready to review the much anticipated NHS Long Term Workforce Plan https://wwwenglandnhsuk/publication/nhs-long-term-workforceplan/ Wehadourarmsopenwidewaitingforittolandandwereplanningtocelebrateitspublicationwhileweateour75thNHS anniversary cupcakes Unfortunately we were not privy to an advance copy of the plan so five years after it was due to be publishedwewerewaitingwithbatedbreathtoreaditscontents

There is a welcomed expansion of the multi-professional workforce planned but detail is lacking particularly around the medical workforce, consultants, trainees and SAS and locally employed doctors We need clarity on how many training and additional substantive posts will be available for our professions across Intensive Care We also need to understand how educators and trainingtimewillbeprotected Withouttrainerstoday,thereisnoworkforcetomorrow

Whilst recruitment is essential, we know that retention is a growing concern and arguably even more important The longer-term impact of COVID-19 without any respite during a period of significant operational and financial pressure on the NHS and the cumulative impact (and underlying rationale relating to pay terms and conditions) of industrial action has not helped We risk running the bath without putting the plug in first if we do not ensure that retention and the solutions to address this problem are notquicklyaddressed

The workforce plan is funded for 5 years with a commitment of 24 billion pounds until 2028/29 It is unclear what happens financially beyond this time but at the least there is some transparency (review progress and goals every 2 years) even though itsnotreallyoffering longterm costedsolutions Letshopethatthedetailwillfollow,andwecanlookforwardtoabrighterperiod intheNHSwhichprovidesadequatenumbersoftrainedstafftodelivertimelyandoptimalpatientcareandstaffwhoalwaysfeel valuedwithopportunitiesforpersonalandprofessionalcareerdevelopment

ItisdisappointingthattheIntensiveCareSocietywasnotrepresentedasastakeholderintheWorkforcePlan Itperhapsreflectsa continuedlackofunderstandingoftheimportantrolethatcriticalcareprovidestobothouracuteandelectivepathwaysandthe widereachandinfluencewehaveforpatientexperienceandoutcomes Wewillcontinuetoworkwithourmembers,keystrategic partners and parliamentarians through our All-Party Parliamentary Group to help raise the profile and needs of intensive care professionalsandourpatients

On a final note the Society has been called as a witness to the COVID-19 inquiry We welcome this opportunity to act on your behalf We are yourSociety-weareheretorepresentyourvoice