NIHR is investing £24 million in five innovative new research partnerships designed to tackle significant challenges facing social care and NHS staff
Workforce sustainability is a critical area for UK health and social care services, with 106,432* unfilled posts in secondary care (hospital-based and mental health care), and 131,000** unfilled posts in the social care sector.
New funding by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) will enable researchers to develop and test innovations that will improve NHS staff turnover and retention.
NHS staff need better support to improve care quality
The funding will be invested into five Workforce Research Partnerships (WRPs) involving 24 universities across England and Wales, five NHS Trusts, four councils, and five charities and non-profit organisations.
Workforce sustainability is a key area of the NHS Long Term Plan and the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. The WRPs will design their research in response to the key needs of NHS and care stakeholders and will run for five years.
Professor Lucy Chappell, NIHR Chief Executive and Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for Health and Social Care, said: “Staff are the backbone of our health and care system. The NIHR is funding high-quality research to understand our workforce needs better. These new landmark research partnerships will generate crucial new research across a range of projects to help improve the quality, organisation, and retention of teams, improving the quality of care they provide.”
NIHR research returns over £13 to the UK economy for every £1 invested by the taxpayer. This comes from direct health benefits and profits to UK firms undertaking research.
Five projects to support the NHS
The first project, Same Day and Urgent Care Workforce Research Partnership (SURGE), will examine the significant NHS staff shortages in same-day and urgent-care services. This partnership aims to provide research to support employers in creating a more robust and thriving workforce.
Project two, called Allied Health Professions (AHPs) Workforce Research Partnership, will focus on AHPs, an under-researched group. The research has the potential to shape decision-making at national and local levels.
The third project aims to build on a foundation of expertise and evidence on NHS staff wellbeing. It will test solutions in hopes of creating healthy workplaces.
Project four, the Social Care Workforce Research Partnership, will develop research to foster a more effective and well-supported social care workforce. They will focus on wellbeing, labour supply, demand and markets. They will also look at using data technology and innovation in work conditions and organisations.
The final project, Partnership for Workforce Sustainability in Underserved Areas, will focus on areas of high deprivation, where people have more complex needs, and on geographically remote locations. NHS staffing problems can be worse in these areas. The partnership will focus on the North East, London, and the West Midlands, as well as primary care and maternity services.
Karin Smyth, Minister of State for Health, said: “As we rebuild our broken NHS, we must better understand the skills, expertise and aspirations of our fantastic health and care workforce.
“That means making the most of their talents and deploying them where they can be most effective. It also means ensuring the work is enjoyable and meaningful and their wellbeing prioritised in what is, so often, a high-pressured environment.
“The valuable research generated by these partnerships will help us retain and nurture more staff, turn the tide on recruitment challenges, and deliver even more high-quality health and care to communities throughout England.”
