The body representing employers in the NHS in England has described the conclusions drawn in a report about NHS staffing as illogical.
The report, Staffing and Human Resources In The NHS – Facing Up To The Reform Agenda, suggested that NHS reforms could lead to a further 100,000 job losses.
The report, published by the think tank Reform, said changes introduced by the government would create a more efficient workforce, but at the cost of a 10% fall in staff numbers.
The report’s author, Nick Bosanquet, professor of health policy at Imperial College London, also said the NHS had focused too much on quantity, rather than quality, bringing thousands more workers into the system.
Alastair Henderson, deputy director of NHS Employers, said the drivers identified in the report, such as providing care outside hospitals and the involvement of other providers of care, meant that employers must think more creatively about their future workforce.
“This is why efforts are being put into joined-up workforce planning and new ways of working,” he said.
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“To dismiss the increase in staff over recent years as simply quantity over quality both fails to recognise the NHS’ need for increased capacity and is unfair to dedicated and hardworking staff.”
“There is no doubt that we should see a greater emphasis on flexible working and productivity in the future to enable us to deliver higher quality care that meets the needs of patients, and this process is already under way,” Henderson added.
