London Higher welcomes the publication of The 10 Year Health Plan for England as an important blueprint to delivering services, as the NHS increasingly focuses on prevention and community-based care, tackling health inequalities and focusing on improving the overall health of the population.
Over a quarter of UK medical students are trained in London, alongside 20% midwives and 15% general nurses. The capital also educates high numbers of people working in other specialist areas in nursing and healthcare.
Jolanta Edwards, Director of Strategy and lead for London Higher’s Healthcare and Medical Groups commented:
London’s universities are vital partners in delivering the ambitions in the NHS 10 year health plan and particularly in training up more doctors, nurses, midwives, and Allied Health Professionals who go on to work not just in the capital but across the UK.
To provide high quality training to the next generation of the NHS workforce, we need to be able to attract and retain educators across all areas of healthcare and medicine. But in nursing, for instance, research shows that the size of the educator workforce in London is in decline.
We also need to make the study of these subjects attractive to students and ensure there are roles on graduation. In London, there is an urgent need for more health and medical professionals with a rising population. Nationwide, 74% of nursing departments have a recruitment freeze.
There is much to do, and change cannot be achieved overnight. Nor can it be achieved without joined up thinking across all aspects of the health sector, especially with our healthcare and medical educators. London Higher’s Healthcare and Medical Groups are looking forward to working in partnership with the NHS and others in the health sector to create a better healthcare system for everybody.
