Planning medical and dental school intakes for the future needs of the NHS
This report from the Health and Education National Strategic Exchange (HENSE), using research by the Centre for Workforce Intelligence, looks ahead at the future medical and dental workforce needs of the NHS.
It enables plans to ensure that those workforce needs are met in 2025 and beyond, when students entering medical school next year will become fully qualified. Regular planning is important so that there is a close match between the number of medical school places and junior doctors’ training posts available.
Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter said:
_“The NHS of the future needs the right workforce in place to make sure patients get the best care. The government is taking action now so that patient’s needs will continue to be met in 2025, and money is not wasted training more doctors than the NHS requires, who could end up having to go abroad to find work. _
“Regular robust contingency planning ensures there is a close match between medical school places, the future demands for care of patients in the NHS, and junior doctors’ training posts so that supply meets demand.”
In 2011 the Department of Health and the Higher Education Funding Council for England commissioned the Health and Education National Strategic Exchange to review whether the current levels of medical and dental student intakes were in line with predicted future workforce requirement and make recommendations for future intakes.