Regional Variation in the Community Nursing and Support Workforce in England: A Longitudinal Analysis 2010-2021

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Public Health Policy
• Healthcare Workforce Studies

Background:

• Shifting healthcare from hospitals to community settings is a global policy objective.
• England's community health services face critical workforce shortages, jeopardizing this policy shift.
• Limited understanding exists regarding regional variations in community workforce provision and their links to need determinants.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze regional variations in England's community services workforce from 2010 to 2021.
• To investigate the relationship between workforce provision and socioeconomic factors like deprivation and rurality.

Main Methods:

• Utilized NHS workforce statistics for nurses and support staff in community services (2010-2021).
• Aggregated organization-level data to regional and national levels for consistent analysis.
• Calculated staff per 100,000 population aged 65+ to assess longitudinal trends and regional variation.
• Correlated workforce data with deprivation and rurality indicators.

Main Results:

• A twofold variation in community workforce provision existed across English regions.
• Nationally, staff numbers per 100,000 population aged 65+ decreased by 21.2% between 2010 and 2021.
• Regions with higher deprivation had greater workforce provision, while rural areas had lower provision.

Conclusions:

• The community health workforce has declined relative to population needs, contradicting policy goals.
• Persistent regional workforce disparities were observed throughout the decade.
• Lower workforce provision in rural areas may hinder equitable access to community care.