CGC Oakgrove 4.0

Health Care

Sector Outlook The UK spends over £185 billion on healthcare around 9.9% of GDP. We spend £93 billion on curative and rehabilitation care, £44 billion on long term care and £15 billion on medical goods. The majority of cost is paid by the government’s NHS insurance, (80%), with the general public paying £27 billion in costs. Around 4 million UK adults have private medical insurance and this is on the rise spending £6 billion on healthcare. Altogether the health care sector employs around three million people with 1.7 million working within the National Health Service (NHS). Career pathways can be found in hospitals, private nursing homes, medical and dental practices, laboratory research, ambulance services and complementary medicine. Of all the careers available, nursing has the highest number of suitably qualified staff. The UK has significant demand for medical staff and needs 20,000 additional nurses. The need for medical staff has pushed the government to offer 25% more medical places by 2018, with the expectation that 7,500 students will be trained each year. The impact of Brexit is uncer tain but concerns exist for the 209,000 EU nationals working here and 25% of all doctors from overseas. With a growing ageing population the UK needs an additional 1 million staff working in social care by 2025. A career in the sector is wor th considering with the facts that there are over 350 roles to explore, average vacancies at 25,000 a month and a recruitment drive for 100,000 apprentices needed by 2020. Some job roles are likely to offer better opportunities for employment. Adult nursing, care work, dental nursing and careers in the private sector are set to grow. It’s also worth noting that the workforce in Scotland has grown at a faster rate than other parts of the UK. The need for voluntary experience has always been an essential requirement for those considering clinical roles. The methods to gain vital insights into the industry include work experience placements, paid employment, job shadowing or voluntary work. This could be with a clinic, health centre, hospital, charity or social enterprise. Working and understanding technology is a must as the sector innovates to improve patient outcomes and improve working practice. Consider these applications; technology to clean up spillages, sense body temperature, distribute medicine, provide diagnostics, give new therapeutic interventions and do surgical procedures. To kick start your career its worth knowing that employers are looking for candidates who have a certain skillset. A willingness to participate in learning and development, the ability to work as part of a team, an aptitude for problem solving and excellent communication skills are qualities that are in demand by many employers. Similarly, if you’re keen to work in a management role you will need to be adept at negotiating and facilitating change. It’s also worth noting that more than 48% of staff in health care are professionally qualified, so it will be in your best interest to build upon your qualifications. To explore the careers in the NHS, why not look at www.stepintothenhs.nhs.uk to discover more about the roles and opportunities.