Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Workforce Census – March 2009
Thursday, 21 January 2010The Department today released details of the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care (HSC) Workforce at 31 March 2009.
This statistical publication presents an analysis of staff in post by occupational family, main location, gender, working pattern and age. It also gives details of staff turnover between April 2008 and March 2009, as well as summary information on vacancies.
In March 2009, the NI HSC employed around 78,000 people, including bank/sessional staff. The workforce accounted for just over 10% of all persons in employment in Northern Ireland, and is the largest and most complex workforce.
The statistical publication covers the majority of the Hospital, Community and Social Services workforce (66,512 staff or 54,182 whole time equivalent) excluding bank/ sessional staff, for which information is incomplete due to the variable nature of their employment.
Key Points:
Overall
- The HSC workforce increased from 53,556 (41,990 WTE) in March 2000 to 66,512 (54,182 WTE) in March 2008, an increase of 24% (29% WTE) in this 10-year period.
- The whole time equivalent (WTE) total of front-line staff including medical & dental staff, qualified nurses and allied health professionals experienced a small increase of 1% between March 2008 and March 2009.
- The WTE total of Administration & Clerical staff decreased further by 1% between March 2008 and March 2009.
- The largest staff group was Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting staff, which, including nurse support staff, comprised 33% of the total WTE NI workforce. Approaching one half (44%) of these worked part-time.
- There were 3,851 (3,559 WTE) Medical and Dental staff, excluding GPs, working in hospital and community settings. Just over a third (36%) of this group were consultants.
- The WTE total of Professional & Technical staff increased by 1% between March 2008 and March 2009.
Staff turnover
- Social Services staff had the highest volume of leavers and the highest leaving rate (for the year April 2008 to March 2009) at 9% of staff in post.
- Levels of movement between HSC organisations were highest amongst Professional & Technical staff at 4%.
Vacancies
- The overall current vacancy rate within Health & Social Care fell from 2.4% (1,266 WTE) in March 2008 to 2.1% (1,159 WTE) in March 2009.
- The highest WTE number of vacancies in March 2009 was 260 within Nursing, Health Visiting & Midwifery, representing a current vacancy rate of 1.4%. However, the largest current vacancy rate was within Support Services at 4.4% or 230 WTE.
- Long-term vacancy rates at March 2009 were highest for Support Services staff at 2.2% representing 111 WTE.
HSC organisations
- The Belfast Trust, as the largest HSC employer in N. Ireland, employed over two-fifths (43%) of the entire HSC Medical & Dental workforce.
- The Northern HSC Trust employed over a quarter (27%) of all Social Services staff working in N. Ireland HSC organisations.
- Nursing, Health Visiting & Midwifery staff makes up the largest proportion of total staff employed within each of the five HSC Trusts, comprising between 31% - 37% of their total workforce.
Notes to editors:
1. The Bulletin is published on the Departmental website at: http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/workforce_census_march_2009_web.pdf
2. The majority of the information was collected from the Human Resource Management Systems that are maintained by the various HSC organisations. These are administrative personnel systems. The analyses presented in the publication exclude temporary bank staff (who fill staffing shortfalls to maintain service delivery). These groups were excluded because, due to the part-time and variable nature of their work, their input to the service is difficult to measure. Figures also exclude staff working in General Medical or General Dental practice.
3. WTE (Whole Time equivalent) is calculated by aggregating the total number of hours staff in a particular grade are contracted to work and dividing by the standard hours for that grade. In this way, part-time staff are converted into an equivalent number of 'whole-time' staff.
4. Vacancy figures detailed in the publication were collected directly from the Trusts by means of a survey. The vacancy rates are defined as the total number of vacancies expressed as a percentage of the total staff complement (i.e. vacancies plus staff in post). A full report of the March 2009 vacancy survey can be found at: http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/vacancy_survey_march_2009_full_report_web_version.pdf
5. Regional Services includes the following organisations: Central Services Agency, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service, Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency, Northern Ireland Practice & Education Council, Northern Ireland Regional Medical Physics Agency, Northern Ireland Social Care Council, The Beeches Management Centre and the Regulation & Quality Improvement Authority. The Western HSC Trust includes Westcare Business Services.
6. Figures for Administration and Clerical will include some senior direct care professional staff who have opted to take up senior manager contracts with their employers.
7. Additional Information
Further information on the NI HSC Workforce is available from:
Workforce Section Project Support Analysis Branch Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety Annexe 2, Castle Buildings Stormont, BT4 3SQ Tel: 028 90 522342 Fax: 028 90 523288 Email: workforcestatistics@dhsspsni.gov.uk Internet: http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/stats_research/work_force/stats-research.htm8. For media enquiries please contact the DHSSPS Press Office on 028 9052 0074.
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