DoH (2012) Liberating the NHS developing the healthcare workforce

The shape and skills of the future health and public health workforce need to evolve constantly if we are to sustain high quality health services and continue to improve health in the face of demographic and technological change. To keep up with these changes, the NHS and public health system is changing and therefore the way in which we educate and train our workforce must also change – the needs of patients and the public must be served by a workforce that has the skills and knowledge to provide safe, effective and compassionate care at all times. Here we set out a new education and training system that will do just that, building on responses to our consultation and the advice of the Future Forum. It puts employers, and professionals in the driving seat and gives them the national support they need to identify and anticipate the key workforce challenges, and to be flexible and responsive in planning and developing their workforce. We believe these provider-led arrangements offer the best assurance for future-proofing the way we develop the health and public health workforce so we can meet the aspirations set out in the NHS Constitution – to bring the highest levels of human knowledge and skill to save lives and improve health.