Caring for the mental health of the medical workforce

British Medical Association, April 2019
This report provides a summary of findings from a large-scale survey into the mental health of doctors and medical students. The survey, which was open to BMA members and non-members across the UK received over 4,300 responses. Four in ten respondents to our survey reported currently experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, burnout, stress, emotional distress or a mental health condition that is impacting on their work, training or study.
Click here to view the full report.

Workforce Stress and the Supportive Organisation – A framework for improvement through reflection, curiosity and change

Health Education England, April 2019
This framework, produced by Health Education England, aims to help health and social care employers improve the mental wellbeing of their employees.  The framework encourages employers to take a closer look at the systems they currently  have in place for managing staff wellbeing, to give greater consideration to the impact  workforce stress has on staff and to look at the role they can play in providing better support to staff who may need it.
Click here to view the framework.

Inspire, Attract And Recruit: An Interactive Toolkit To Support Your Workforce Supply

NHS Employers, December 2018
NHS Employers toolkit offering guidance, good practice, checklists, top tips, questions and leading examples from across the NHS, to help employers take stock of what may need to be done to sustain a workforce pipeline. It aims to provide practical information on understanding audiences, how to attract the right people and ensuring employees have the best on-boarding experience.
Click here to view the toolkit.

Fair care: A workforce strategy for social care

Institute for Public Policy Research, December 2018
Adult social care is an essential public service and a growing part of our economy. However, the social care system in England faces a workforce crisis which is set to grow in the coming years; by 2028, we estimate there will be a shortage of over 400,000 workers in social care.
The challenges of recruiting and retaining workers in the sector is inextricably linked to low pay and poor working conditions. This is itself related to the under-funding of social care and a commissioning and delivery model based on cost not quality. Providers have competed by driving down pay and conditions, and they have faced little resistance given the limited bargaining power of the workforce and the limited enforcement of employment rights. These factors are combining to create a social care workforce crisis.
The solution is a sustainable long-term funding settlement for social care and a transformation of the social care workforce model. This should be based on the establishment of decent pay and terms and conditions through sectoral collective bargaining, and a professionalisation of the social care workforce. These measures would help ensure high-quality work for care workers, and high-quality care for those who need it.
Click here to view the full report.

The health care workforce in England: make or break?

The King’s Fund, November 2018
This briefing highlights the scale of workforce challenges now facing the health service and the threat this poses to the delivery and quality of care over the next 10 years. It sets out the reasons why the NHS long-term plan and supporting workforce strategy must address the urgent and mounting challenges facing the health care workforce.
Click here to view the report.