Health Education and Training Evidence Session: Regional Delivery and Local Partnerships

This is the second evidence session, part of the Higher Education Commission’s and All-Party Parliamentary Group for Health’s (APHG) inquiry into health education and training.

The NHS faces an unprecedented workforce crisis. England has just 3.2 doctors per 1,000 people – well below the EU OECD average of 3.9 – and would require an additional 40,000 doctors to close this gap. Retention rates among early- and mid-career nurses, midwives, and Allied Health Professionals remain worryingly low, with many citing poor pay, challenging conditions, and limited career progression as reasons for leaving the profession.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (June 2023) set ambitious targets: a 92% increase in adult nursing training places and a 50% increase in GP training by 2031/32. The NHS 10-Year Plan (July 2025) built on this, committing to a curriculum overhaul within three years, 2,000 new nursing apprenticeships in high-need areas, 1,000 additional speciality training posts, and reducing international recruitment to below 10% by 2035. Yet, delivering these goals requires transformative coordination across a fragmented system. Universities face acute financial pressures, with 43% of institutions expecting deficits. Further education colleges contend with chronic underfunding and a teacher recruitment crisis.

This session will examine how regional partnerships, local workforce planning, and place-based delivery models can translate national workforce ambitions into practice, exploring how universities, colleges, and NHS trusts can collaborate to widen participation, address local shortages, and retain graduates in underserved.

Themes for discussion:

• Widening participation and diversifying entry routes
• Regional inequalities and targeted interventions
• Local workforce planning and skills matching
• Partnership models and collaboration
• Regional retention strategies

This session is chaired by Professor Alison Honour, Vice Chancellor and CEO of Bournemouth University, and will be hosted at Bournemouth University.

Opening remarks from:

• Cllr Millie Earl, Leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council
• Tom Hayes MP, Labour MP for Bournemouth East
• Rhiannon Tuckett-Jones, Inquiry Lead, Policy Connect

Structured discussion with:

• Lord Lieutenant for Dorset Professor Michael Dooley, Pro Chancellor at Bournemouth University
• Siobhan Harrington, Chief Executive, University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
• Louise Garner, Director of Learning, Bournemouth and Poole College
• Students from Bournemouth University
• Professor Vanora Hundley, Professor in Midwifery, Bournemouth University
• Rini Jones, Senior Policy and Delivery Manager, NHS Race and Health Observatory

The inquiry is kindly sponsored by the University of Derby, ACCA, and iheed.

For more information about the inquiry or this session, please contact Rhiannon.Tuckett-Jones@policyconnect.org.uk