The RCP believes that the government must support a sustainable expanding medical workforce that is properly resourced and trained. We therefore advocate investment in consultant-delivered services, effective national workforce planning and the promotion of flexible working for hospital staff.
We believe that high-quality patient care depends upon a highly motivated and committed medical workforce. Given the prospect of increasing demands on the service, the changing workforce demographic and much tighter funding, it is imperative that we link financial and workforce planning at both local and national level.
As part of this we must also maintain the current growth in the medical workforce across the board, and avoid resorting to cuts in the workforce in the hope of achieving short-term cost savings.
- Investment in consultant-delivered services - Consultants and fully trained doctors, underpinned by the Certificate of Completion of Training and the national contract, are the foundation of high-quality healthcare. They are more efficient in delivering care, as well as being at the core of educating new doctors and developing the research and innovation base that supports the NHS. This is why the RCP advocates, with the support of its patient and carer network, a model of consultant-delivered care, supported by continued consultant expansion and sustained medical student numbers.
- National workforce planning for medical specialties - Despite the plethora of data available, the history of medical workforce planning in the NHS is a chequered one and short-term responses have resulted in cycles of over- and undersupply. Given the long cycle of training needed to achieve specialist status, its cost, and implications for patient services, effective national workforce planning is essential.
- Support for flexible ways of working within hospitals - One workforce issue that will have a profound effect on the medical profession response to challenges in the future development of the NHS is the changing composition of the profession itself.
The implementation of the European Working Time Directive has restricted the working hours of junior doctors and has led to requirements for new ways of working. In addition, there is a need to offer more flexible work patterns for senior clinicians, in order to keep them in the medical workforce.
The RCP recommends that flexible working should be positively encouraged and promoted actively for hospital staff.
