NHS: Staff
(asked on 8th November 2024) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of NHS staff have been non-patient facing in each of the last ten years.
The following table shows the number and percentage of the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) workforce employed by National Health Service trusts and other core NHS organisations in England that are in NHS infrastructure support roles, this being a proxy for non-patient facing roles, as of each August from 2014 to 2024:
Year | Total staff | NHS infrastructure support staff | Percentage of total staff who are infrastructure support |
2014 | 986,595 | 153,363 | 15.5% |
2015 | 1,006,026 | 156,824 | 15.6% |
2016 | 1,031,091 | 161,353 | 15.6% |
2017 | 1,046,979 | 164,339 | 15.7% |
2018 | 1,067,951 | 170,443 | 16.0% |
2019 | 1,100,273 | 178,371 | 16.2% |
2020 | 1,159,365 | 184,270 | 15.9% |
2021 | 1,198,746 | 194,546 | 16.2% |
2022 | 1,230,089 | 202,980 | 16.5% |
2023 | 1,297,455 | 214,501 | 16.5% |
2024 | 1,348,584 | 218,914 | 16.2% |
Source: NHS Hospital and Community Health Service monthly workforce statistics, NHS England, available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics
Notes:
- the NHS infrastructure support staffing group includes staff defined as managers, senior managers, non-patient facing clerical or administrative staff, and maintenance or works staff;
- FTE refers to the proportion of full-time contracted hours that the post holder is contracted to work, as one would indicate they work a full set of hours, and 0.5 that they worked half time; and
- this data relates to the Hospital and Community Health Service workforce directly employed in NHS trusts and other core organisations, like integrated care boards for the latest data point, who are paid.