Ministerial Foreword
We introduced the National Workforce Planning Framework in the context of rapid change within NHSScotland. Change is a fact of modern life, and makes forward planning challenging. Yet it also makes strategic workforce planning all the more important. It also provides opportunities for us to consider the way we provide services and to challenge the status quo.
We know that, in the context of our changing demography, the status quo is not an option. Within the next 5 to 10 years, just over a quarter of the NHSScotland workforce is likely to retire. We must plan now to sustain our services in the face of such a significant loss of experience and in the context of a much smaller labour market.
Through implementation of the National Workforce Planning Framework, we aim to be in a good position to plan for, and manage change in the short, medium and longer term. This requires closer links between service, financial and workforce planning to ensure that we have the right people to provide care for patients in the right places and at the right time. Those links will also help us move to a planning approach which looks at patient pathways, rather than professional silos.
The challenges cannot be underestimated. But we can be proud of the progress that has been made in the first year of the new annual workforce planning cycle. We do not yet have all the answers, but issues have been identified and methodologies developed to ensure ongoing progress and improvement.
I am grateful to those who contributed their expertise and views in developing this first National Workforce Plan and in particular, the members of our virtual National Workforce Planning Network.
Much has been achieved and I am confident that these strong foundations will allow us to refine and develop our planning approaches in the coming year.
Andy Kerr
Minister for Health and Community Care