NHSE Long Term Workforce Plan: Understanding HCPC's requirements

We ran a webinar in conjunction with NHS England, to discuss HCPC's regulatory requirements for education providers responding to workforce needs. This included what to do when setting up a new programme, and when making changes to existing programmes. We want to be clear about our requirements, to help education providers understand our assessment processes, and dispel any unhelpful misconceptions about our regulatory role. 

Background

In summer 2023, NHS England (NHSE) published their NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan. This marked a significant milestone in preparing for a sustainable health and care workforce in England. As part of NHSE’s three overarching goals of ‘train, retain, reform’, it estimates that to meet service needs, the allied health professional workforce will need to increase, with education and training places increasing by 19-25% by 2030-31.

For education providers, there are undoubtedly challenges ahead on the road to achieving this, particularly regarding practice-based learning, academic staff capacity, and their own resources. We anticipate that many education providers will therefore be considering how to make changes (including increasing learner numbers) to existing programmes, or adding new routes to registration, without compromising on quality.

We are here to support education providers looking to expand their offer, but we want to underscore that our core priority is always public protection. We need to be confident that our regulatory standards are met and maintained by education providers and programmes, to ensure those who complete programmes are fit to practise. This webinar should help education providers understand what they need to do to achieve this.

Resources

You can watch recording below or view a copy of the slides and Q&A document.