CGC Ebook 5.0

Health Care

Sector Outlook The UK has spent an additional £50 billion on its Health and social care budget to meet the challenge of Covid-19 with a further 2£0 billion in 2021/22. We already spend over £185 billion on healthcare around 9.9% of GDP. We spend £93 billion on curative and rehabilitation care, £44 billion on long term care and £15 billion on medical goods. The majority of cost is paid by the government’s NHS insurance, (80%), with the general public paying £27 billion in costs. Around 4 million UK adults have private medical insurance and this is on the rise , spending £6 billion on healthcare. Altogether the health care sector employs around three million people with 1.7 million working within the National Health Service (NHS). Career pathways can be found in hospitals, private nursing homes, medical and dental practices, laboratory research, ambulance services and complementary medicine. Of all the careers available, nursing has the highest number of qualified staff. The UK has significant demand for medical staff despite government pledges. Nursing vacancies were at 40 ,000 in 2019 with 33,000 nurses leaving the sector. One in 4 nurses do not complete their training and applicants to learning and mental health are down considerably. The need for medical staff has pushed the government to offer 25% more medical places . The lack of GP's in practice still remains a concern with actual 1.6% decline. With a growing ageing population the UK needs an additional The social care sector needs 2.2 million workforce or an increase of 36% by 2035 to meet demand. A career in the sector is wor th considering with the facts that there are over 350 roles to explore with average vacancies at 2 0 ,000 per month on the NHS jobs website. Some job roles are likely to offer better opportunities for employment. Adult nursing, care work, dental nursing and careers in the private sector are set to grow. It’s also worth noting that the workforce in Scotland has grown at a faster rate than other parts of the UK. The need for voluntary experience has always been an essential requirement for those considering clinical roles. The methods to gain vital insights into the industry include work experience placements, paid employment, job shadowing or voluntary work. This could be with a clinic, health centre, hospital, charity or social enterprise. Working and understanding technology is a must as the sector innovates to improve patient outcomes and improve working practice. Consider these applications; technology to clean up spillages, sense body temperature, distribute medicine, provide diagnostics, give new therapeutic interventions and do surgical procedures. To kick start your career its worth knowing that employers are looking for candidates who have a certain skillset. A willingness to participate in learning and development, the ability to work as part of a team, an aptitude for problem solving and excellent communication skills are qualities that are in demand by many employers. Similarly, if you’re keen to work in a management role you will need to be adept at negotiating and facilitating change. It’s also worth noting that more than 48% of staff in health care are professionally qualified, so it will be in your best interest to build upon your qualifications. To explore the careers in the NHS, why not look at www.stepintothenhs.nhs.uk to discover more about the roles and opportunities.