Untapped Potential: The Role of Training in Public Health
RSPH’s new report sets out the challenges the wider public health workforce is facing to protect the nation’s health, and the support they need to continue delivering crucial preventative interventions.
Our country is facing a healthcare crisis.
With more people living longer in poor health, it has never been more important to invest in preventative services. Despite this, the wider public health workforce tell us that they are missing out on vital support and training. Reversing this trend will be crucial to improving our national health.
We are calling for more support for the wider public health workforce. We need to give them the capacity and foundation they need to deliver services and improve the health of the population. This must start with more opportunities to access training, gain new skills and break the barriers preventing them from progressing their careers in public health.
Alongside this, we are calling on the Government to recognise that we cannot improve health if we only pay attention to the NHS. Their current 10 Year Plan for the workforce must be broad and inclusive – join our campaign by writing to Wes Streeting today.
Untapped Potential: at a glance
Key Findings:
- Over 80% of RSPH members told us that they need more development to do their job as well as possible.
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84% of respondents were willing to develop their skills further but faced barriers which meant they weren’t able to pursue appropriate training.
- 64% say that the lack of staff capacity to meet the growing demand for public health services is also a key concern.
Recommendations:
- The Government should ensure that the Wider Public Health Workforce are a key part of the upcoming Health Workforce Strategy to include everyone who has an impact on health outcomes.
- The Skills and Growth Levy should allow funds to be spent on all training which relates to health improvement.
- We must address the barriers that prevent the Wider Public Health Workforce from progressing, include more time for training and more effectively utilising workforce data.
What are the main challenges the workforce is facing?
Recruitment
Public health consistently faces major recruitment challenges, with high vacancy rates and difficulties in attracting and retaining staff. If they are unable to reach the capacity they need to meet their workload and deliver their services, we risk higher rates of ill health over the coming years.
Retention
The Public Health sector already faces a massive loss in expertise and experience through the retirement of older employees, and this will become a bigger concern over the coming years. We must support employees who want to build a long-term career in public health, where they can grow their knowledge and experience in the areas they want. We risk draining talent from the sector as organisations cannot retain their staff.
Career Progression
Clear pathways into public health are crucial if more recruits are to be attracted to long term careers in the sector. If staff feel unable to progress their careers, they are more likely to seek careers elsewhere which align more with their aspirations.
How can we unlock the potential of the wider public health workforce?
Workforce Strategy
Implementing a shift to prevention requires both the NHS workforce and those who work in or around public health to work together. It is important that the Government doesn’t allow organisational silos to reduce the effectiveness of their work. The Wider Public Health Workforce should be a key part of the upcoming Health Workforce Strategy.
New entry level qualification
The current system lacks a clear minimum level of knowledge. Entry level qualifications provide a solid foundation of expertise on which both further education and a workforce strategy can be built. Alongside extending government funding for public health training, a lower-level qualification would ensure that all this training is supporting a joint aim.
Time to train
Organisations often cannot cover their employees' workloads if they leave to attend a training course, which leads to higher burnout and stress among workforces – along with being unable to develop the expertise of their workforce. To combat this, staff must be provided with protected time for fully funded professional development.
Tell Wes Streeting there's no prevention without the public health workforce
Use the tool below to write to Health Secretary Wes Streeting and ask him to support the public health workforce.
Interested in public health training?
RSPH offers a range of training and qualifications online, in person, and through our network of qualification centres.
