Modernising Scientific Careers: The Hidden Workforce - it’s time for healthcare scientists to stand up and be counted!

Wednesday, 28 May, 2014

Based on current available data, the healthcare science (HCS) workforce is understood to form approximately 5% of the workforce, yet their work is believed to provide input to around 80% of all diagnostic decisions.But wait, do we (the NHS) really understand where healthcare scientists are within our organisations, what roles they are undertaking and even how many there actually are?The answer will probably come as no surprise, but evidence shows that at organisational level there is very little knowledge about the healthcare science workforce. There is variation between trusts in terms of what they understand about this workforce, and many examples of trusts reporting their HCS workforce in single figures, when some have literally hundreds of healthcare scientists in pathology services alone.This is the fourth document in the eWIN Modernising Scientific Careers series, others in the series include:

  • Workforce Evolution in Progress
  • Practitioner Workforce Development
  • The Cardiac Scientist Role and its Impact within the NHS
  • The Hidden Workforce

 

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