Analysis

NHS People Plan: the crucial gap in the nursing workforce target

Varied data collection methods make it hard to gauge exact nurse numbers and vacancies
Illustration depicts stressed nurse trapped in blood pressure cuff. The Interim NHS People Plan aims to tackle the biggest challenge facing the NHS – a shortage of nurses.

Varied data collection methods make it hard to gauge exact nurse numbers and vacancies

  • Interim NHS People Plan to tackle biggest challenge facing NHS – a shortage of nurses
  • But lack of overall system to record nurse numbers and vacancies hampers planning
  • RCN review shows falls in mental health, learning disability and community nurses

The NHS is in the grip of a workforce crisis, and nothing is more pressing than the shortage of its biggest resource – nurses.

Health unions, charities, patient groups, academics, the media and even the UK governments all agree on one point: the nursing shortage needs to be addressed urgently.

This shortage is the ‘biggest single challenge’ facing the NHS workforce, according to the Interim NHS People Plan ,

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