Leading nurse academic Professor Alison Leary has been appointed to serve on the health and social care committee’s expert panel, which will be evaluating the Government’s progress on its health and social care workforce commitments in England.
Professor Leary, chair of healthcare and workforce modelling at London Southbank University, said it is ‘a great privilege to serve on this committee’.
The expert panel will focus on three key areas:
- Planning for the workforce – including how targets are set, recruitment and retention;
- Building a skilled workforce – including incorporating technology and professional development of staff;
- Wellbeing at work – including support services for staff and reducing bullying rates.
The findings will support the work of the health and social care committee, which is carrying out a separate workforce inquiry into the recruitment, training and retention of staff in health and social care.
Professor Leary said: ‘I am delighted to serve on this panel. The workforce is pivotal to providing safe and effective health and social care. I very much hope to contribute insight drawn from both the research literature and also the insights gained from working in workforce modelling across different sectors.’
Professor Dame Jane Dacre, chair of the expert panel, said: ‘We’ve identified a recurrent theme in our evaluations to date – progress is dependent on having the right number of skilled staff in the right place at the right time. Shortages have a real impact on the delivery of services and undermine achievements.
‘Our panel of experts will evaluate progress made to meet policy pledges in this crucial area – whether it’s about getting workforce planning right, training, or ensuring staff wellbeing.’
The evaluation comes amid urgent calls for a national nursing workforce plan and a new system to avoid future workforce shortages.
