We need to talk about the workers: Researching the health and social care workforce and (re)searching for solutions

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Programme

Scarcely a day seems to go by without some news about NHS staff – their pay, conditions, actions, and attitudes. By contrast, the social care workforce is less prominent, despite being numerically larger than its NHS counterpart. In both sectors however the workforce seems to be increasingly cast as part of the problem as well as the solution to the problems facing the health and care system.

This lecture will explore the problems of the health and social care workforce from different research perspectives and how solutions seem to rise and fall in popularity. Some golden threads are explored, such as the UK reliance on international recruitment, numerous recruitment initiatives, scant retention interest, and a surprising short-sightedness in preparing for workforce ageing or acknowledging the likelihood that people may wish to have children and/or support wider family members. Research interest in the workforce is growing and ideas for approaches and studies will be canvassed.