On the publication of the 10 Year Health Plan for England, Ed Hughes, CEO of the Council of Deans of Health, has issued the following statement:

“The Council of Deans of Health welcomes the 10 Year Health Plan for England. The shift to a neighbourhood health service, embracing technology and focusing on a preventative approach will be supported by our members. They deliver the homegrown workforce the NHS, community and social care sector need to meet these ambitions. Our universities and colleges will be essential to the Plan’s aim to move away from dependency on international recruitment.

We recognise that delivering the healthcare of the future will require changes to the way the workforce is educated and trained. The Plan rightly recognises the growth in responsibilities and autonomy for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. Our members are constantly adapting their offer to ensure that graduates are ready to enter the rapidly evolving workplace and will continue to do so to make sure that future generations of health care professionals have the skills they need. We look forward to contributing to the workforce plan set to accompany the 10 Year Health Plan – it is vital that this factors in the experience, challenges and ideas of the universities and colleges responsible for education and training; they will be the ones who prepare the next generation of nurses, midwives and allied health professionals for the three shifts set out in the plan.

Delivering the ambitious changes set out in the Plan will require concerted effort across not just health systems but for education too. Addressing the challenges facing our higher education sector so that we have a sustainable clinical academic workforce to lead teaching and research, ensuring students can access the financial support they need to afford to study, widening access to careers in health, and making the NHS an employment destination of choice are central to this. The 10 Year Health Plan commits to reforms in these areas, and we look forward to working with the government and the NHS to shape this future together.”