Healthcare Workforce Intelligence Briefing 22/01/26

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Healthcare Workforce Intelligence Briefing

Designed for busy professionals managing the workforce or those providing staffing solutions into the health sector, this publication curates and summarises some of the most relevant content in a single publication.    

Kate Harper

• In the Media

• Blogs and Comments

• News in Numbers

• Pause for Thought

Some information in key publications sits behind firewalls.  Other information requires individuals to register for free access to sites.

In the Media

NHS Policy and Transformation

Care England has published a Briefing for Impact Statement: 10 Year Health Plan which explains the relevance of the mpact statement to the care sector.

UK Authority reports that 7 in 10 doctors believe the NHS lacks the digital infrastructure needed to safely deploy AI tools despite widespread enthusiasm - NHS not ready for AI - Royal College of Physicians.

This article from the BBC - Care facilities increased to free up hospital beds - demonstrate the impact on the acute system from enhancements in community care.

HSJ research reveals savings plans for every trust in England - Revealed: The trusts with the highest savings targets.

HSJ has also revealed that NHSE launches ‘sprint’ in bid to hit waiting list targets.It is understood that tens of millions of pounds is likely to be made available to trusts to fund extra elective work.

According to the HSJ, analysis undertaken for Unison shows that Subco profits are driven by pension savings.

NHS Workforce

This Press Release from the REC presents the findings of an FOI request among London NHS Trusts.  Patient safety taken for granted: Trusts admit failing to assess impact on patients and staff of Department of Health diktat to cut agency staff.

Nuffield Trust has published a briefing asking -  Why does England have unemployed GPs when patients can’t get GP appointments?

The HSJ reports Hospitals face ‘catastrophic’ threat from losing resident doctors in response to the possibility that NHS England will withdraw resident doctors from Trusts with poor ratings

International Workforce

NHS Employers sets out details of English language requiremennts for immigration applications.  

HR and Staffing

No delay to Employment Rights Act timetable.

Personnel Today reports that the government has confirmed that it intends to adhere to the existing timetable for implementation of the Employment Rights Act, despite the number of unresolved details set to be decided in secondary legislation.

In a separate article, Personnel Today also suggests Businesses need to be more aware of age discrimination. because of the sharp rise in those working past retirement.

Pay Transparency is Becoming the Next Major HR Risk and Many Organisations are Unprepared.  

HRD Connect explains the changing regulation and how it will likely impact on organisations.

HR Magazine presents research showing two thirds of graduates use AI for job applications.  

Political, Economic, Social, Technical, Legal and Environmental Trends

This paper from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and refereced by the Kings Fund sets out some of the real challenges facing Public-Sector Reform in the Age of AI.

Personnel Today reports that Inflation ticks up marginally more than expected and Wage growth slows but unemployment highest for five years. 

Staffing Industry Analysts write that the UK’s temporary workforce climbs, but unemployment rate up.

Blogs and Comments

The King’s Fund blog - Feeling our way forward: emotions, leadership and the future of care which discusses the importance of emotional honesty in leadership practice in health and social care..   Another blog discusses why NHS regions should be part of the NHS, not the department.

The News in Numbers

The Health Foundation comments on the latest NHS monthly performance statistics - Record 12-hour trolley waits - a grim milestone for the NHS. 

💡 Pause for Thought

I was tempted this week to write a short piece reacting to a recent HR Magazine article suggesting that two thirds of graduates use AI when applying for jobs. On reflection, that is probably not especially surprising. What gave me pause was the way the article appeared to blur two quite different ideas: the use of AI as a tool, and the suggestion that this is somehow synonymous with dishonesty or misrepresentation.

Used well, AI does not mean lying or embellishing a CV. It can simply be a way of clarifying thinking, improving structure, or expressing experience more clearly. That is a debate worth having, but I will leave it for another time.

Instead, I want to focus on the recent press release from the REC which questions whether the NHS’s instruction to cut agency spending by 30 per cent risks unintended consequences for patient care. It is an important challenge and one that deserves serious attention.

Using national financial and workforce data I have prepared a CWIP response to the blog which argues that the policy intent is often misunderstood. Recent NHS returns show that spending on both agency and bank staffing has been falling since late 2023/24. This is not substitution. It is deliberate contraction, alongside growth in the substantive workforce.

The article also explores why the absence of formal “impact assessments” does not mean that patient safety has been ignored. Trusts are managing staffing risk through service redesign, demand management and existing governance mechanisms, not through single, stand-alone assessments.

The conclusion is not that agencies are the problem. On the contrary, a well-regulated agency market remains a critical part of NHS resilience. The real question is how temporary staffing fits into a wider, evidence-based workforce strategy focused on sustainability, affordability and safe care.

View the full article here…