Written question WQ91485

Retaining staff is equally as important as recruiting new staff. Our National Workforce Implementation Plan sets out actions to improve retention, including improving staff wellbeing, and continued investment in education and training.

The Welsh Government has and will continue to invest in the workforce required to support our health system in Wales. £281.98 million was invested in 2023-24 and we will maintain this level for 2024-25. This will support education and training programmes for healthcare professionals.

A set of targeted workforce plans have been published or are in development relating to the priorities identified in A Healthier Wales: Our Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care Workforce, which was published in 2020, setting a 10-year strategic direction and vision for workforce transformation. These specific workforce plans span mental health, pharmacy, dentistry nursing and primary care and will improve the workforce capacity and capability to meet child health needs. There are specific goals within the plans to address urgent workforce needs. For example in the Strategic Mental Health Workforce Plan for Health and Social Care, parent-infant and children and young people are identified as priority workforce areas.

The National Workforce Implementation Plan (NWIP) published in January 2023 was developed to accelerate the actions in partnership to ensure a sustainable workforce across all age demographics.

HEIW launched the Nursing Retention Plan recently and key principles will be adopted within the National Retention Programme for NHS Wales. The All-Wales Flexible Working Policy has been published which will enable more attractive flexible working arrangements and patterns to support and retain staff.