Health Education and Training: evidence sessions summary

Over the course of three evidence sessions held between January and February 2025, the Higher Education Commission brought together voices from across the healthcare education landscape to examine how the higher education sector can better support the recruitment, training and retention of NHS clinical staff. Hosted at the House of Lords, Bournemouth University, and the University of Greenwich, the sessions drew on the expertise of regulators, NHS leaders, educators, local government representatives, and students to explore three interconnected themes: national strategy and system leadership; regional delivery and local partnerships; and educational innovation and workforce readiness. Together, they will inform the Commission’s final report and policy recommendations to government. Below is a summary of each session. 

Evidence Session 1 – National Strategy and System Leadership   

Wednesday 28 January – House of Lords  

Focused on the question of national strategy and system leadership, the first session brought together panellists from the Royal College of Anaesthetists, the Council of Deans of Health, the Health and Care Professions Council, Anglia Ruskin University and ACCA. Chaired by Lord Philip Norton and opened by Professor Kathryn Mitchell, Kevin McKenna MP and Jonathan Brash MP, the discussion ranged from governance and coordination to funding, workforce modelling and the barriers facing education providers on the ground.  

There was strong consensus across the discussion that whilst commitment to expanding the healthcare workforce is genuine, deep systemic barriers are preventing that ambition from translating into delivery. Participants described a system that is too fragmented, too short-term and undermined by contradictory policies, with universities and colleges finding themselves working around obstacles rather than being actively enabled to grow provision. The lack of transparent, joined-up workforce modelling emerged as a particularly critical gap, with credible data existing across the system but not being used collaboratively to drive planning and commissioning decisions.  

Joe Fitzsimons, Regional Lead Policy and Insights – EEMA & UK, ACCA: “The Parliament session brought into focus something that resonates beyond healthcare education: without transparent data, long-term planning and properly aligned funding structures, even the strongest strategic ambitions struggle to translate into delivery. The evidence heard that day makes a compelling case for the kind of joined-up, system-wide thinking that puts sustainable investment in people at its core.”  

Evidence Session 2 – Regional Delivery and Local Partnerships 

Monday 9 February – Bournemouth University 

Focused on regional delivery and local partnerships, the second session was hosted at Bournemouth University and chaired by its Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alison Honour, with opening remarks from Councillor Millie Earl, Leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. The day began with a student panel, giving healthcare students at Bournemouth University the opportunity to share their experiences and challenges first-hand, before the formal evidence session brought together panellists including the Lord Lieutenant for Dorset, the Chief Executive of University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust, representatives from Bournemouth and Poole College, and the NHS Race and Health Observatory, offering a distinctly place-based perspective on the challenges of healthcare workforce development. 

The discussion brought into sharp focus the specific pressures facing coastal and rural communities, from ageing populations and acute workforce shortages to transport barriers and stark intra-regional inequalities. A strong consensus emerged around the importance of “growing your own” workforce through long-term local partnerships between schools, colleges, universities, NHS trusts and local authorities. Participants highlighted the financial precarity facing healthcare students, the need for more flexible and visible entry routes, and persistent skills gaps in areas like emergency care and mental health. Tackling racial inequity and building genuinely inclusive pathways featured prominently, as did the argument that retention is as much about workplace culture and community belonging as it is about pay. The broader message was that education investment in regions like Dorset must be understood as long-term economic development, not simply a service cost. 

Professor Alison Honour, Vice-Chancellor, Bournemouth University: “What was clear during our illuminating discussion was the passion from all stakeholders in delivering an NHS service that works for all, and ensuring that as many barriers as possible are removed for those who want to study in health courses. I was so proud to Chair this discussion, and proud of our students who actively engaged and shared their own experiences of education and some of the issues they have faced. We want to work alongside our regional healthcare partners to deliver for this region, and I am pleased that our staff and students, alongside partners and health organisations, have been able to contribute to this valuable discussion.” 

Evidence Session 3 – Educational Innovation and Workforce Readiness   

Wednesday 25 February – University of Greenwich  

Focused on educational innovation and workforce readiness, the third and final session was hosted at the University of Greenwich and chaired by its Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jane Harrington, with opening remarks from Kevin McKenna MP. The day began with an immersive morning programme exploring simulation-based learning across the patient pathway, with Greenwich’s experts demonstrating how simulation can generate shared insight and understanding, alongside further opportunities to hear directly from students about their experiences. The formal evidence session then brought together panellists from iheed, NHS England, the Medical Schools Council, Health Education Improvement Wales, and students from the University of Greenwich. 

The discussion explored how educational innovation, technology and simulation can better prepare the healthcare workforce for the demands of a modern health service. Simulation-based learning featured prominently, with participants highlighting its power to build clinical competency, support interprofessional teamworking and even scale globally, whilst also cautioning that it should complement rather than replace workplace-based experience. Blended and digital learning were presented as tools not just for innovation but for inclusion, with evidence that well-designed programmes can improve retention and widen access for mature, disabled and geographically isolated students. The abolition of level 7 apprenticeships and the continuing impact of the 2017 bursary removal were both raised as significant setbacks. Participants called for AI literacy and digital skills to be embedded in curricula from the outset rather than treated as an add-on, and for assessment frameworks to evolve accordingly. The need for regulatory reform to enable rather than constrain innovative education, better protected teaching time, and meaningful workforce metrics beyond attrition and satisfaction rates were all emphasised as essential to making progress. 

Professor Jane Harrington, Vice-Chancellor, University of Greenwich: “The University of Greenwich was proud to host a session that felt so closely aligned with our own mission around innovation, inclusion and preparing graduates for the realities of the modern health service. The conversations we had reinforced for me that simulation, digital learning and innovative education models are not the future; they are already here and already working. The priority now must be scaling what works and ensuring regulation and funding keep pace with that ambition.” 

Devan Chauhan, Children’s Nursing Student, University of Greenwich: “It was a real privilege to be a part of these discussions. The student voice is a crucial part of making change and developing systems for future generations of healthcare professionals. I left this inquiry knowing my voice as a student mattered and made an impact on the policymakers, NHS leaders and educators in the room. This is an important step towards a system that is genuinely designed around our needs and experiences.” 

Across all three sessions, a clear and consistent picture emerged: the commitment to building a sustainable healthcare workforce is there, but the system too often gets in its own way. Whether the conversation was about national governance, regional delivery or educational innovation, participants returned again and again to the same underlying challenges, fragmentation, short-termism, financial barriers, and the gap between what the evidence shows works and what actually gets implemented at scale. Equally consistent was the sense that solutions exist, are being developed, and in many cases are already working; what is missing is the joined-up, long-term leadership needed to bring them from the margins into the mainstream. 

Lord Philip Norton, Inquiry Co-Chair: “Across three rich and varied sessions, we have built a substantial picture of both the challenges and the opportunities facing healthcare education today. I am grateful to everyone who contributed their expertise and experience, and I look forward to translating that evidence into meaningful recommendations.”  

Professor Kathryn Mitchell, Vice Chancellor, University of Derby, Inquiry Co-Chair: ”As universities and education providers, we have a central role to play in building the healthcare workforce this country needs, and these sessions have powerfully illustrated both what we are already contributing and where greater support is needed. The evidence we have gathered will be invaluable as we develop recommendations that put education at the heart of workforce planning.”  

The Commission would like to thank all those who contributed their time, expertise and experience across the three sessions, and in particular the students whose candour and insight enriched every discussion. We are now moving into the recommendations phase of the inquiry, drawing on the evidence gathered through the sessions alongside our wider Call for Evidence. Our interim report, which sets out the emerging themes and early findings from the evidence gathered, is available to read here: [LINK]. The final report and recommendations are due to be launched this summer. 

This inquiry is kindly sponsored by University of Derby, ACCA, and iheed.

If you’re interested in learning more about this project, please contact Rhiannon Tuckett-Jones (Rhiannon.Tuckett-Jones@policyconnect.org.uk)