The workforce crisis in health and care poses the single greatest risk to access to and quality of care. We will support leaders in all parts of the health and care system to address staff shortages and work alongside them to develop compassionate and inclusive cultures that enable health and care staff to provide the best possible care. We will support leaders, organisations and systems to collaborate to deliver change and ensure that people working in health and care are able to make best use of digital technologies.
What do we want to achieve?
The aim of the programme is to create a healthier, more inclusive and effective health and care workforce. We will do this by combining leadership support and organisational development with our knowledge of health and care policy to:
encourage the development of compassionate and inclusive workplace cultures
support leaders individually and collectively to develop their leadership practice
influence policy and work at system level to deliver the transformational changes needed across health and care.
What will the programme focus on?
During 2024 we will:
continue to focus our leadership and organisational development practice work on the conditions required for leaders and their teams to successfully operate within and across organisational and system boundaries
focus on the need for compassionate, inclusive, and diverse workplace cultures and the conditions required to address the health and wellbeing needs of the workforce
refresh our thinking about clinical leadership and the support needs of ICS leaders as they take on greater responsibility for people planning and transformation
continue to develop our understanding staff shortages, the driving forces behind them and how they can be addressed
continue our successful programmes of work to support leaders working in the voluntary and community sector.
Resources and key projects
Catch up with some of the programme's reports, projects and resources.
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Workforce race inequalities and inclusion in NHS providers
Despite having a diverse workforce, ethnic minority staff in the NHS continue to experience worse levels of bullying and a lack of opportunities for career progression. This report looks...
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The courage of compassion
This report, commissioned by the RCN Foundation, explores the causes and consequences of poor mental health and wellbeing among nurses and midwives, and seeks to identify solutions to th...
Contact us to find out more about this work
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Jo Vigor
Assistant Director
See our other priorities
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Foundations of health and care
'The foundations of health and care' is one of our strategic priorities. We'll provide analysis, explain key issues and the landscape of the health and care system.
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Healthy places and communities
The purpose of our work on healthier places and communities is to support effective place-based working that leads to improved health and wellbeing.
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Tackling the worst health outcomes
The programme will work with people with lived experience, communities and services to improve health and care for people with the worst health outcomes in England.
Enabling the workforce plan ambitions by focusing on recovery
How can the NHS support the health and wellbeing of staff? Sonya Wallbank looks at how the HS needs to support its staff, if it is to achieve the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Workforce...
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan explained
June 2023 saw the launch of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, in this long read we explain the NHS plan and how this will impact the workforce moving forward.
Covid-19: why compassionate leadership matters in a crisis
Suzie Bailey and Michael West examine why compassionate leadership matters now, in a time of global crisis, more than ever before and how leaders can best support those health workers an...
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Leading through Covid-19
The health and care system has faced a huge challenge over the past two years. These resources are aimed at leaders working in the NHS, social care, public health or the voluntary and in...