News | Thursday, 21st April 2022
University researcher to help shape government plans for health and social care workforce
Prof Carol Atkinson will advise evaluation of Government’s health and social care workforce commitments
A researcher from Manchester Metropolitan University is to evaluate the government’s progress against its commitments to the health and social care sector and shape plans for the future.
Carol Atkinson, Professor of Human Resource Management, has been appointed Special Advisor to the House of Lords Health and Social Care Committee’s Expert Panel to advise a new independent evaluation.
The evaluation will focus on the Government’s progress against its pledges on the health and social care workforce, focusing on three 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.
Professor Atkinson will offer advice based on her previous research on employment in health and social care, for example, her work on employment quality, gender pay gaps in medicine in England, commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care, and on recruitment and retention crises in adult social care, which was commissioned by Welsh Government.
The findings will support the work of the Health and Social Care Committee which is carrying out a separate inquiry: Workforce: recruitment, training and retention in health and social care.
Professor Atkinson said: “I joined the panel to contribute to informing policy that will support the health and social care workforce in doing its exceptionally important job. I hope the panel will be able to influence policy to create positive change for the health and social care workforce and so improve care quality.
“We hear repeatedly that more staff will be needed to meet future demand of health and social care services and deal with the backlog caused by the pandemic. But if we don’t improve conditions for workers, how can we expect them to stay and how can they provide good care?
“Existing staff shortages affect the current delivery of services to patients, and I know from my research that problems with terms and conditions of employment are impacting on recruitment and retention and consequently the quality of care being received.
