HEIW: Strategic nursing workforce plan

Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) are developing a strategic workforce plan to recruit, retrain, train and transform the nursing workforce in Wales by providing recommendations to action to meet the current and future demand.

Consultation Phase

The consultation on the actions of the Strategic Nursing Workforce Plan is live from Monday 13 May to Friday 21 June. 

If you are part of the Nursing Workforce, we need to hear from you to confirm what is strong, missing or wrong with the current draft actions. We strongly encourage you to have your say on the proposed actions by completing the MS Form. 

The Strategic Nursing Workforce Plan is a 10-year plan to support NHS Wales: to recruit high-calibre individuals into the profession, to train more nurses, to retain our dedicated nursing workforce and to transform the way nurses work.

Nurses are the largest group of staff in NHS Wales and represent approximately 40% of the workforce, working across a range of specialities and environments including hospitals and community settings. Across NHS Wales, all organisations are experiencing unprecedented service pressures compounded by workforce challenges.

The challenges facing the nursing profession include.

·    A shortage of registered nurses.

·    Rising numbers of patients with co-morbidities.

·    Increased demand for care and services.

·    An aging population.

·    Numbers of experienced nurses diminishing.

These factors combined, impact on nurse recruitment and retention, wellbeing and can lead to burnout. Shortages and burnout lead to increased stress levels among nurses, resulting in reduced job satisfaction and compromised attention to patient needs.

The aim of the plan is to develop innovative solutions to transform the nursing profession to ensure a suitable workforce to meet future service and workforce demands.

Learn more: Strategic nursing workforce plan - HEIW (nhs.wales)