The health white paper and need for up to £20 billion in efficiency savings in the NHS by 2013/14 present challenges for every organisation in the NHS. It is clear that employers will increasingly need to work together and share good practice to find innovative ways of meeting these challenges. This is where NHS Employers comes into its own.
2009/10 was our fifth year as your employer representative and this annual review sets out our achievements and highlights our commitment to supporting and representing you. We ran our most successful annual conference yet, kept employers informed and prepared during the flu pandemic, engaged with you on big issues including the multi-year pay deal and the future of nursing and midwifery, and launched a respected campaign to tackle mental health stigma in the NHS workforce.
With a new contract in place with the Department of Health, we will continue to support and represent employers with national negotiations on pay, pensions and primary care contracting; workforce capacity and flexibility; medical education and training; professional standards and regulation; staff and employer engagement; equality, diversity and human rights; and partnership working and communications.
Over the coming year we will continue to keep you informed, seek your views and provide you with the tools to improve services while meeting the demands placed on the health service and its staff.