Recruitment Written by Neal Suchak, policy advisor, Recruitment and Employment Confederation
Healthcare recruitment post-Brexit Staffing shortages and rota gaps have been an ongoing issue for the NHS for decades. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s Neal Suchak analyses the challenges that will face the NHS post-Brexit The NHS is one of the top five largest Staffing shortages and rota gaps have been employers in the world. In England alone it an ongoing issue for the NHS for decades employs around 1.3 million people, with a and workforce management has always been further 300,000 across Scotland, Wales and under the spotlight. With over 4.5 million Northern Ireland, and it is estimated that people having contact with the NHS every around two thirds of the health week – and this being forecast service budget is spent on staff to rise with an ever-ageing salaries. At first glance, these population – we simply 10,000 numbers look healthy, don’t have enough staff. and many would be NHS Improvement has EU staf f h forgiven for thinking reported that over the a v e already that we should be last year, on average, l e f t N the HS sinc in a good position one in 11 NHS posts referen e the Brexit to cope with current in England were dum, a and future demand. vacant, accounting for n dw need to However, the underlying more than 100,000 reverse e workforce challenges staff; in the nursing this tren d facing our health and sector, the vacancy social care system are rates are even higher. huge, complex and now with A survey of recruiters looking Brexit uncertainty, critical. at the next five years, reported
in the REC’s Public Sector 2025 whitepaper, found that 77 per cent of specialist health and social care recruiters expected staffing shortages to increase significantly. Data from global jobs site Indeed found that jobseeker interest in nursing has not kept up with the rise in demand, and interest in social care has declined. If these trends continue, recruiting nurses and care workers may become more difficult in the future – at a time when we need them more than ever. Brexit is coming! As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, it looks as though there is no solution on the table for funding and staffing for the NHS. We all know that the NHS featured prominently in the referendum campaign, with promises of an extra £350 million a week to be spent on the NHS post-Brexit. Although the Prime Minister announced last summer that there would be an extra £20 billion for the NHS – partly as a result of the Brexit ‘dividend’ – others have dismissed this suggestion. The Treasury has said a combination of economic growth and perhaps tax rises may be needed to raise the funds. E Issue 19.2 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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