Integrating health and care in the 21st century workforce

Purpose The NHS needs to adapt as never before to maintain and plan for an integrated and sustainable multi-professional workforce, spanning all health and care sectors. This cannot happen without system leaders embracing workforce transformation at scale and enabling system-wide collaboration and support for multi-professional learning and role development. "By learning together, we learn how to work together". The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The case studies included in this paper provide evidence of the ability of NHS systems to adopt integrated workforce models at scale. The case studies were chosen to demonstrate how system-wide change is possible, but still requires a partnership approach to innovation, strategic workforce planning and commissioner support for new models of care. Findings With partnership working between arm's length bodies, commissioners, educators and workforce planners, the NHS is more than capable of generating a transformed workforce; a workforce able to continue providing safe, effective and joined-up person-centred care. Social implications The evolution of the NHS into a joined-up, integrated health and social care workforce is essential to meet the aspirations of national policy and local workforce need - to centre care holistically on the needs of patients and populations and blur the boundaries between primary and secondary care; health and social care; physical and mental health. Originality/value This paper contains Health Education England project work and outcomes which are original and as yet unpublished.