NHS organisations call on new health secretary to stop 10-year workforce plan
NHS Workforce Plan 2026: NHS workforce bodies have written to the new health secretary, James Murray, asking the government to put on hold the planned workforce strategy for the health service in England.
The organisations have warned that the government’s next long-term 10-year NHS Workforce Plan, due to be published imminently this month, will be unlikely to tackle ongoing workforce decrease, dangerous conditions and rising patient demand.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), British Medical Association, Society for Acute Medicine, Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing and trade union Unite wrote jointly to Murray, who succeeded Wes Streeting when he stepped down from government in May.
The letter warned:
“Unsustainable and hazardous conditions are being created across the NHS due to persistent workforce shortages, rising demand, increasing complexity of treatment and an ageing population.”
Concerns Over AI and Digital Technology in the NHS Workforce Plan
It also raised worries about the plan’s anticipated use of AI and digital technology.
“It said assumptions about such tools risk overstating near-term productivity gains without sufficient evidence or safeguards.”
It warned that the government is also likely over-optimistic about how much the service’s planned change to a more community-based approach will lower demand for services elsewhere and therefore risks understating the need for workforce growth across all sectors.
NHS Staffing Shortages and Rising Patient Demand
“Rising demand, ever more complex need and an ageing population are producing turmoil in the NHS, with hospitals under huge pressure and professionals increasingly unable to keep patients safe,” said RCN general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger.
“We fear that the strategy to come will not reflect the day-to-day realities of staff but instead mistakenly look to AI and digital technology to drive up productivity and avoid the need to invest in the personnel. This would be a tragedy for patients.”
Health Service Leaders Demand Workforce Growth
“We have shown that when we come together with colleagues across the health service to demand the workforce plan is not published there is a united front across the health service that staffing levels need to increase to meet patient need,” she added.
The joint letter follows concerns from the RCN that declining growth in the registered nurse workforce and patients with increasingly complex demands are leaving nursing staff weary and failing to keep people safe.
The college’s most recent Shift Survey of 13,000 nursing workers, in May, indicated almost a quarter (22%) believed there was “such a low number” of registered nurses there was a “high risk” of harm on shift.
Growing Concerns About the Future of NHS Staffing
The concerns raised by NHS organisations highlight the ongoing challenges facing the health service, including workforce shortages, increasing patient demand, an ageing population, and concerns over the role of AI and digital technology in future workforce planning. Healthcare leaders continue to stress the importance of increasing staffing levels across all sectors to ensure patient safety and maintain high-quality care throughout the NHS.