Nhs employs how many people

Since it was formed in on three principals — to meet the needs of everyone, to be free at the point of delivery and to be based on clinical need, not the ability to pay — it has grown and now employs more than 1.

Looking beyond the But thinking about the many different treatments and medical research projects it encapsulates, and the millions of loyal, almost philanthropic staff working towards the wellbeing of the nation — you could imagine it rather substantial in terms of people and expenditure.

It has long been known to be the UKs biggest employer, but where does it rank amongst the world heavyweights? The figures show the NHS is growing rapidly. There are many other characteristics to consider to ensure that the NHS workforce is sufficiently diverse and reflects the diverse community of the patients it serves — such as age, gender, disability, religion and sexual orientation. These are drawn out in more detail in our forthcoming report on attracting, recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce.

There were around 76, full-time equivalent advertised vacancies in hospital and community services alone between January and March These shortages are distributed unevenly across the country, with the highest percentage of full-time equivalent vacancies in London 8.

Nevertheless, hospitals are experiencing difficulties with medical staffing in a number of specialties and locations. The Covid pandemic has had a significant impact on workloads and working patterns of medical staff, with one in six doctors reporting that one of the main changes from the pandemic was the change in their rotas.

However, since the start of the Covid pandemic until February , the number of nurses substantially increased by 11, 3. For specific types of nursing, the trends vary.

In , nurses were added to the list of shortage occupations by the Migration Advisory Committee a non-departmental public body that advises the Government on migration issues , albeit initially on a temporary basis. This list was refreshed in October , in which nursing still featured as a role experiencing significant shortages Around , people are substantively employed by the English NHS to care for people who need mental health services.

The largest group of clinicians are registered mental health nurses, but their numbers have been in decline. Our recent research 12 looked at how inaccurate perceptions and lack of clarity on the roles within mental health services can be a barrier to increasing this workforce. In , the Migration Advisory Committee added core psychiatry training to the list of occupations experiencing a shortage of staff. That said, the refreshed shortage occupation list cites all medical practitioners as a profession experiencing workforce gaps.

Psychologists, a key group of mental health staff, have also been added to the list of occupation shortages. In , a significant training plan was published which intends to reverse the decline and expand the numbers of staff working in mental health by 19, by Our recent report 16 on participation and progression in psychology careers included recommendations for enhancing awareness of different roles and professions that psychology graduates can especially contribute to.

Year-on-year increases saw full-time equivalent ambulance staff numbers rise from 30, in September to 42, in February However, it is difficult to understand the trend over the same time period for ambulance support staff due to changes in how the data was collected. Historically, ambulance staff have reported negative experiences in the NHS staff survey relative to other staff groups This group scored consistently lower on matters of equality, diversity and inclusion; health and wellbeing; morale; and working in a safe environment, amongst others.

The wider professionally qualified clinical and scientific workforce account for a large proportion of hospital and community staff, with over , "scientific, therapeutic and technical" full-time equivalents in February The clinical support workforce are frontline staff who are typically not registered professionals, but deliver a large proportion of hands-on patient care.

Our recent research looks specifically at mental health support staff, where we found that the same promise of good working conditions and training and development to all NHS staff was often not afforded to support staff This follows failure to make any headway against a ambition to increase the number of GPs by 5, by In fact, the data shows that since there has been a decline of fully qualified, permanent GPs working in England.

Previous analysis suggests practices that reported data in more deprived areas have fewer GPs per person on their list than those in less deprived areas.

On average there were 1, patients on GP lists for each doctor in the least deprived fifth, compared to 2, in the most deprived Although there are attempts to improve equity in GP supply across the country 21 , these initiatives must be able to constantly identify and monitor areas with the greatest patient need.

The number of practice nurses has hovered around the 24, mark for several years. No matter where you start within the NHS, you will have access to extra training and be given every chance to progress within the organisation.

You will receive an annual personal review and development plan to support your career progression, and you'll be encouraged to progress through the Knowledge and Skills Framework. Every new employee automatically becomes a member and you will get an excellent package of pension benefits, fully protected against inflation and guaranteed by the government. See www. In the Department of Health set a target to reduce the number of 'people years' spent gathering data by 30 per cent.

In October a baseline of years was set with the goal of a reduction to This target is not on schedule to be met: in December , this figure stood at — a There have been few systematic attempts to measure the quality of management in the NHS.

A recent study published by the LSE found a relationship between the quality of management — as measured by surveys — and the quality of clinical services in hospitals, as measured by the Healthcare Commission.

The Department of Health recently launched the National Leadership Council to improve the quality of senior management in the NHS, which has traditionally spent a very small proportion of its training budget on managers.

There are currently around 1, VSMs in England — chief executives, executive directors and others with board level responsibility.

Their salaries, along with those of other senior public servants, are agreed by ministers on the advice of the Senior Salaries Review Body. Following recommendations by the Senior Salaries Review Body, the government had previously announced that the pay of very senior NHS managers should increase by 2.

Hansard 17 June A report published in April this year by Incomes Data Services PDF showed that, in fact, chief executives had received an average pay increase of 6.

Pay increases for VSMs have been limited to 1. Other managers will receive a pay increase of 2. Increases in the number of NHS staff and higher pay costs have absorbed more than half the increases in financial resources made available to the NHS since Thorlby and Maybin eds All three major parties are committed to reducing management costs in the NHS.