Development of a national digital workforce strategy is a key part of a “radical programme of modernisation” underway at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), health and social care secretary Sajid Javid has announced.

The digital health and social care plan set out the government’s vision for transforming health and care with digital technology and bolstering skills in the sectors’ frontline workforces.

The national digital workforce strategy is aimed at “bridging the skills gap and ensuring the NHS remains an attractive place to work”, a DHSC statement said. Also, it is intended to:

• Grow the specialist data and tech workforce through graduates, apprentices and experienced hires, creating an additional 10,500 positions
• Embedding digital skills into university curriculums
• Providing a digital learning offer for adult social care staff, such as offering accessible training and online resources.

Commenting on the plan during an APSCo event at Westminster on the day of its publication, Tania Bowers, the trade body’s global public policy director, said: “The healthcare sector is still trying to catch up on the backlog that was created during the pandemic, so any move to alleviate some of the time pressures on already over-stretched workers is welcome.”

Bowers went on to say: “This latest news should help improve access to skilled workers and ensure they are deployed in the right care settings at the right time to unblock patient delivery issues caused by a lack of available resources.”

She further noted: “Simplification across hiring frameworks in healthcare is still needed, though.” Bowers pointed out that APSCo had also launched its dedicated Compliance+ accreditation for the clinical and healthcare sector on 29 June “to create a consistent recruitment standard that is recognised and utilised across all frameworks, in synergy with NHS Employers”.

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