NHS consultation mustn't sideline academics

Responding to the Department of Health's consultation document, 'Liberating the NHS: Developing the healthcare workforce', the union said the report had failed to recognise the crucial role academic, clinical and research staff at universities can play in helping to develop future healthcare workforces.
 
In its submission to the Department of Health UCU pointed to the recent investigations at the Mid-Staffordshire and Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trusts, which concluded that low levels of qualified nurses and poor training had contributed to substandard care and patient deaths.
 
UCU said the government had prioritised developing a market in the NHS above trying to improve education and training for staff working in the system.
 
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'I am very disappointed that the government's new consultation document has failed to recognise the crucial role universities can play in helping to train healthcare professionals. As the recent investigations at Mid-Staffordshire and Tunbridge Wells have shown training and education cannot be left to chance.
 
'Academics have a fantastic track record of educating staff, with many higher education institutions working in partnership with local hospitals and healthcare providers. We simply cannot afford for them to be sidelined. It is very worrying that the government's new consultation seems more concerned with developing a market in the NHS than indentifying ways in which healthcare education and training can be improved.'