Train nurses to fill gaps in medical workforce, says Nuffield Trust

Expanding the skills of existing NHS staff, including nurses, community and support staff, is the best way to develop the capacity of the health service, according to a new report from the Nuffield Trust.

The report, entitled ‘Reshaping the workforce to deliver the care patients need’, highlights a number of ways to further expand the remit of non-medical staff.

A key recommendation is that advanced nurses - those that have completed a further period of study, such as a master’s - should be offered opportunities to fill gaps in the medical workforce. The Nuffield Trust argues this will help to deal with the expected gaps in junior doctor rotas, while enabling experienced nurses to progress to a clinically-facing career option.

It also suggests that nurses, along with other healthcare professionals such as pharmacists, physiotherapists and paramedics, should have their skills extended to help manage the growing burden of chronic disease more effectively.

Additionally, the report highlights that the support workforce, including healthcare assistants, is large and highly flexible. It argues that number can be expanded very quickly and better utilised to provide patient focussed care, reducing the workload of more highly qualified staff.

Launching the report, Candace Imison, report author and Nuffield Trust director of policy, said: “Our research shows that reshaping the NHS workforce can offer huge opportunities – for patients, through improved health outcomes, and for staff, through more rewarding roles and better career pathways. But we stress in our report that this is not simply a ‘nice to do’ – it is urgent, and essential if the Health Service is to find a sustainable balance between available funding, patient needs and staff needs, and deliver services fit for the 21st century”.

However, the suggestion of expanding the roles of existing staff has been criticised.

Katherine Murphy, the chief executive of the Patients Association, said: “The proposed new roles and extra responsibilities for existing staff should not be adopted as a ‘quick fix’ solution to the complex staffing problems within the NHS, nor be seen as a cheaper alternative to highly qualified staff.

“These proposals will not solve the shortage of skilled doctors and nurses across the health service and should not aim to do so. Instead, the government needs to do more to invest in the training and retaining of these qualified practitioners.”