To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the
British Society for Rheumatology Specialist Nursing in Rheumatology: the State of
Play, published on 30 April, in particular its findings on the number of unfilled
vacancies within the rheumatology specialist nurse workforce; and what steps they
are taking to assist NHS Trusts in England with recruitment to those posts.
<p>We have noted the report published by the British Society of Rheumatology. The
challenges they highlight are why part of the NHS Long Term Plan’s mission is to make
the National Health Service a world class employer and deliver the workforce the NHS
needs. To deliver on these commitments the NHS published a new interim People Plan
on 3 June that set out a shared vision and plan of action to put NHS people at the
heart of NHS policy and delivery. The interim People Plan sets out the action the
NHS will take now and over the long term to meet the challenges of supply, reform,
culture and leadership.</p><p>Individual NHS employers are responsible for training
the right number of rheumatology specialist nurses, based on the needs of the population
they serve. Health Education England works with NHS employers to support the development
of registered nurses so they can fill these specialist roles.</p><p>A programme of
work is underway at Health Education England to develop an Advanced Clinical Practice
framework that will allow health professionals to develop their careers and learn
specialist skills, such as in rheumatology. Organisations are being supported to understand
this level of practice and how they can develop and support their workforce into Advanced
Clinical Practice level roles.</p>
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) Health Education
England, (2) NHS Education for Scotland, (3) Health Education and Improvement Wales,
and (4) Health and Social Care Northern Ireland, about promoting the study of rheumatology
within (a) the undergraduate, (b) postgraduate, and (c) professional training, medical
community.
<p>The Government has not included any requirement in its Mandate to Health Education
England (HEE) with regards to promoting rheumatology training.</p><p>Undergraduate
medical students and foundation doctors receive career guidance throughout their training
to help them in their choice of subsequent career speciality. This enables them to
consider what they would be best suited to and what career opportunities exist within
the National Health Service. This includes career fairs, which may be meetings or
virtual, when colleges and societies are available to give more detail on the own
specialties. For rheumatology this will include the British Association of Rheumatology.</p><p>HEE
manages the recruitment process for postgraduate training programmes in medicine.
In 2018, 100% of the 50 rheumatology specialty training posts available were filled.
The number of training posts appointed to is agreed each year in balance with all
the other training posts required. These include training posts in general practice,
where most rheumatological conditions are managed primarily or jointly in primary
care settings.</p><p>Healthcare education, training and recruitment in Wales, Northern
Ireland and Scotland is a matter for the devolved administrations in each nation.</p>
<p>Succession planning for individual specialist posts is the responsibility of National
Health Service trusts.</p><p>Health Education England (HEE), the national body for
NHS workforce planning, works closely with the NHS to support workforce planning at
a local, regional and national level. HEE uses information from employers to plan
how many specialists in each discipline are required nationally and then provides
the training programmes to ensure that individual specialists have the right knowledge
and skills to fill these vacancies.</p>
