28 January 2005
The health service in Scotland might face a shortage of staff in the future because of poor strategic planning, the Scottish Parliament's health committee claimed this week.
The committee's report argues that, beyond controlling the number of undergraduate medical students, little attempt has ever been made to match the supply of potential NHS staff with demand. One of the reasons is the former NHS trust structure, it says, where trusts had to compete for staff in a market. 'As a consequence, there was less motivation forco-operating to ensure comprehensive workforce planning or over-arching co-ordination.
'It does not appear to the committee to be possible to deliver a modern health service that meets patients' needs and responds to advances in treatment without more coherent workforce planning than has been the case to date.'
The committee was also concerned that the Executive could miss its target of increasing the number of consultants by 600 by 2006, and that the target for nurses and allied health professionals was too low. Health Minister Andy Kerr said improvements were under way to build a modern NHS with the right workforce.
PFjan2005
