Transcript Document
HEALTH CARE SCIENTISTS Planning for this profession is led by Health Education North Central and East London for the whole of London. Existing and raised issues Workforce planning for Health Care Scientists is restricted due to the lack of robust Electronic Staff Records data. This means that workforce supply and demand cannot be modelled using the process established for other professional groups. However, as a result of work in ESR, a new set of more accurate workforce classifications for Healthcare Science staff have been approved so the 14/15 planning process should include this group of staff. This will lead to better management and understanding of the healthcare science workforce. Healthcare science commissions reflect the significant on-going changes within this workforce group, due to the implementation of Modernising Scientific Careers (MSC) and the impact of the modernisation of London-wide pathology services and associated restructuring of this workforce. National plans for developing healthcare science staff in bands 2 - 4 are well advanced and local implementation of developing frameworks will continue to be taken forward in 2014/15. London is providing support for three BSc Healthcare Science Practitioner Training programmes, which although not NHS commissioned, require NHS (or independent sector) clinical placements. London will take forward work with providers in 2014/15 to increase support for placement capacity. As pathology consolidation plans are implemented, London will work with both NHS and independent providers to understand the shape of the future workforce and education and training requirements. Nine places have also been supported on the interim graduate diploma in Radiotherapy Physics/ Nuclear Medicine programme in 2013 to meet trust demand. In 2013/14 HE 34 trainees were supported on the Scientist Training Programme which included 2 posts in the new Clinical Bioinformatics (Genomics) programme and 2 trainees on the new Radiopharmacy programme. 2014/15 commissions Graduate Diploma Healthcare Scientist Physiological Sciences - 9 Life Sciences - 12 Physical Sciences & Biomedical Engineering 9 16 Division Higher Specialist Scientists 6 In 2014/15 demand for places on the Scientist Training Programme is increased by 8.8% from 2013/14, with 37 places now being supported. Although more work needs to be undertaken to assess the trust workforce requirement for consultant clinical scientists and therefore the Higher Specialist Scientific Training Programme, six places are being supported in 2014/15 (two per London LETB area). The workforce requirement will be linked to medical workforce planning.