Health professionals

Workforce

A shared vision for a strategic review of the cancer workforce

The NHS workforce is vital to the diagnosis, treatment and care of the three million people with cancer in the UK. From their first GP appointment or screening invite to getting diagnostic tests and treatment, and ongoing support and care, patients rely on dedicated specialist staff across the NHS. Without their tireless work, we would not have seen such progress in cancer outcomes.

Yet, the last decade has seen chronic underinvestment and a failure to implement effective planning on workforce education, training, recruitment and retention – leaving the health service facing staff shortages. There are shortages across almost every role connected to cancer from the bedside to the lab.

The publication of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan is a step in the right direction, but we have concerns it does not sufficiently address the scale of the challenge on recruitment or retention or provide the long-term funding needed to see healthcare professionals through their whole career.

We stand ready to work with the UK Government and NHS England to ensure that the plan is implemented and updated to reflect changing patient needs, and work together towards a cancer-specific workforce strategy.

We’re uniquely placed to bring together experts to develop practical policy proposals to deliver real change for people. That’s why we developed Longer, better lives, our manifesto for cancer research and care, setting out how we think workforce planning needs to change. 

Building a cancer workforce that delivers for patients today and tomorrow (May 2023)(PDF, 567 KB)

Comprehensive Spending Review 2021 CRUK submission(PDF, 1.01 MB)

Comprehensive Spending Review 2020(PDF, 762 KB)

Shoulder to Shoulder MP Pledge 2020 (PDF, 265 KB)

Cancer sector letter to the Prime Minister and Secretary of State website (October 2019)(PDF, 357 KB)

Shoulder to Shoulder MP Pledge 2019(PDF, 464 KB)

CRUK policy statement on the future of the NHS cancer workforce in England (September 2019)(PDF, 836 KB)

CRUK priorities for the 2019 Spending Review (August 2019)(PDF, 637 KB)

Open letter to Conservative leadership candidates (June 2019)(PDF, 577 KB)

CRUK Briefing – Will the NHS Long Term Plan help us diagnose cancer earlier? (March 2019)(PDF, 751 KB)

CRUK Briefing - The cancer workforce in the NHS long-term plan (November 2018)(PDF, 176 KB)

Securing a cancer workforce for the best outcomes (November 2018) - short report(PDF, 263 KB)