NHS Workforce Statistics - November 2015, Provisional statistics

STATISTICAL CHANGE NOTICE:The results of an in depth consultation carried out by the HSCIC into health care workforce statistics have now been made public and these will have a major impact on the figures in this publication from 30 March 2016 onwards.

The results of the consultation can be found below

Users need to be aware of intended changes to the presentation of these statistics. For further information, please read the "revisions and issues section" of this month's bulletin.

Provisional monthly figures for headcount, full-time equivalent, role count and turnover of NHS Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) staff groups working in England (excluding primary care staff).

As expected with provisional statistics, some figures may be revised from month to month as issues are uncovered and resolved. No refreshes of the provisional data will take place either as part of the regular publication process, or where minor enhancements to the methodology have an insignificant impact on the figures at a national level.

However, the provisional status allows for this to occur if it is determined that a refresh of data is required subsequent to initial release. Where a refresh of data occurs, it will be clearly documented in the publications.

The monthly publication is an accurate summary of the validated data extracted from the NHS's HR and Payroll system. It has a provisional status as the data may change slightly over time where trusts make updates to their live operational systems.

Given the size of the NHS workforce and the changing composition, particularly during this period of transition, it is likely that we will see some additional fluctuations in the workforce numbers over the next few months, reflecting both national and local changes as a result of the NHS reforms.

These statistics relate to the contracted positions within English NHS organisations and may include those where the person assigned to the position is temporarily absent, for example on maternity leave.

We welcome feedback on the methodology and tables within this publication. Please email us with your comments and suggestions, clearly stating 'Monthly HCHS Workforce' as the subject heading, via [email protected] or 0300 303 5678.