NHS Workforce 2025

Caroline has responsibility for work delivering work on areas including supply, safe and values driven recruitment, raising concerns and regulation. 

The team are also contracted to support the implementation of modernising healthcare science careers. Working closely with professional and system regulators, government departments and the national NHS organisations, the team represents employers' views on changes to policy and legislation. To do this well and ensure they add value to employers, the team work closely with employers. They support HR and service managers to implement policy changes and improve recruitment and employment practices by producing practical resources and by facilitating the sharing of learning and best practice through workshops and share and learn network sessions.

Caroline joined NHS Employers in November 2007 after holding HR roles in the NHS in West and North Cumbria and then in Harrogate. When she's not at work you're likely to find her in the hills of the Yorkshire Dales or Peak District.

I have developed and enriched my career in nursing with nine years of uninterrupted experience.

I am an innovative and unassuming nurse, quick in assimilating new ideas, concepts and cutting-edge issues in the dynamic nursing, highly motivated, inspirational and enjoy being part of a productive and successful team with a strong affinity to learn new ideas.

I have a strong commitment to providing patient centred care and aim to consolidate my skills and academic knowledge in my career. I am a Service Manager currently working at the Ladywell unit where I hope to continue building my experience and make a valuable contribution to the nursing team.

Learning and organisation development leader with significant experience of delivering high quality programmes and projects with drive and impact. Skills include translating strategy into action, employee engagement and culture change, learning needs analysis, OD design, leadership development and talent management.

Humans are born to learn. From our very first breath, we never stop learning. It fuels – and transforms – our lives. This belief sits at the heart of who we are and how we support people in their lifelong learning journeys. We create vibrant, enriching learning experiences that deliver far-reaching benefits, preparing people for a new era of life and work. ​ Because when you learn more, you can do more, be more, and live more.

Paula Baird is the Programme Lead for the national Building Digital Capabilities Programme, delivered by the Digitally Enabled Workforce Team at NHS Education for Scotland, one of the key delivery partners supporting the delivery of Scottish Government and COSLA’s Digital Health and Care Strategy and Data Strategy. Paula plays a leading role in advancing digital, data and leadership capabilities across health and social care workforce, championing their importance in creating a future-ready workforce and transforming services to truly meet the needs of users and staff.

Paula’s work brings together a diverse network of stakeholders to co-create and expand access to learning resources aligned with national priorities. Focusing on fostering a culture of continuous learning where technology is embraced and adopted, and people at every level are empowered to lead meaningful change.

Emma’s background is in learning and development in the housing and care sector before joining the newly established Digitally Enabled Workforce team in NHS Education for Scotland in 2021. Emma now leads on national work building digital leadership skills across the health and care workforce in Scotland.

Lee is a fellow of the BCS, FEDPI Leading Practitioner, CHIME Certificated Health Chief Information Officer and an alumnus of the Digital Academy.

He has three decades of transformation and programme management experience. His first decade focused on UK military aircraft projects and for the last two decades he has focused on digital transformation in the NHS.  He is currently leading the Yorkshire & Humber Care Record development to provide interweave as an open platform for shared care record and population health systems.  He is also the CIO of Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, Senior Responsible Owner for the mental health digital transformation of Humber & North Yorkshire ICS, member of the PRSB advisory board, member of the National ICS Digital Council and vice chair of Northern, Yorkshire and Humberside Digital and informatics Forum (NYHDIF).

Specialties: Digital Transformation, Portfolio, FHIR, Programme & Project Management, Agile, lean, PRINCE 2, MSP, CHCIO, FBCS, FEDIP.  Lee is likes to read, a keen runner and a children’s football coach and referee. 

Emeritus Professor W Angus Wallace

Chair, UK Digital Health and Care (2024>)

Founding Fellow Faculty of Clinical Informatics (FCI 2017-24)

Dean, Faculty of Health Informatics, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (2000-2005)

Angus created the Faculty of Health Informatics at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2000 and was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Health Informatics (FHI) from 2000 to 2005. During his appointment the Faculty introduced a “Master’s Degree in Health Informatics” initially with the RCSEd partnering with Bath University and later with Edinburgh University. During his 5-year appointment he also introduced the eLogbook for surgical training initially into Orthopaedic Surgery but later to cover all surgical training in the UK and Ireland. He was one of the 4-person team who developed the initial version of the eLogbook.

As Professor of Orthopaedic & Accident Surgery in Nottingham for 30 years his special interest was Shoulder & Elbow Surgery. He was one of 4 Founding Members of the British Elbow and Shoulder Society (BESS) set up in 1987, BESS President (2001-3) and President of the International Conference of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery (Edinburgh 2010). He has published over 350 research and academic papers on Orthopaedic Surgery, Shoulder and Elbow Surgery and Informatics (most peer-reviewed).

After the closure of the Faculty of Clinical Informatics, Angus and 5 colleagues conceived UK Digital Health and Care (UKDHC) that was set up in February 2024 and became active in April 2024. The first 6 months of UKDHC are summarised in “UK Digital Health and Care: The Phoenix arising from the ashes of the Faculty of Clinical Informatics”

Samir is a public sector recruitment, workforce and DE&I expert and has worked in SaaS and HCM for over 20 years. He is passionate about innovating and pushing more of the diversity agenda into everyday recruitment using more big data and automation.

In recent years, Samir’s focus has been on the NHS, supporting Trusts to shape and get the absolute best out of their recruitment strategies and meet their recruitment and workforce goals. He understands the challenges NHS Trusts and organisations are facing when it comes to areas such as DE&I, talent shortages and the rate at which roles need to be filled, to name but a few.

As well as being a keen freerunner, Samir has an interest in psychology, looking at why people do what they do and how they make decisions. He has taken this passion and helped evolve Oleeo’s recruitment technology offering.

Senior Apprenticeships Manager, Primary Care

Alison is a Professor of Nursing and Interprofessional Education and Head of the Department of Nursing, Midwifery and Health at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. In 2023 she was appointed Chair of the Council of Deans of Health, UK wide. She is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Previous posts held include Dean of the School of Health and Social Care at Edinburgh Napier University and Deputy Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellor at Northumbria University.

She has also been the strategic lead for a high profile, international nurse education collaborative venture in Malta in partnership with Malta College of Arts Science and Technology. Alison has worked in higher education since 1999, she is an active researcher, an experienced PhD supervisor and examiner. She is a registered nurse and health visitor. Her research interests include: interprofessional education; nursing and healthcare collaborative workforce development; professional identity; health visiting; and public health; using qualitative methodologies including grounded theory.

• Dr Diamond is a consultant in Emergency Medicine. She has trained in the UK and Australia. She was an international examiner for the Royal College before taking position as the deputy medical director of the Southern Trust in Northern Ireland. Her portfolio covers workforce and training.
• She developed an out reach service to manage intoxicated patients rather than using the default position of send to ED.
• She has developed several apps and cloud based technology in partnership with the University of Ulster.
• She has developed and grown 2 companies which have seen growth through periods which were associated with austerity.

Lucy has worked in the training and education sector for over 25 years and for the past 14 years she has been working in the Apprenticeship arena. First leading the business development teams at 2 London FE colleges and for the past 9 years working for HEE now NHS England offering strategic support to the NHS on all aspects of apprenticeship development, delivery, and implementation. She is very passionate about apprenticeships as a great tool to recruit new talent to the NHS but also as a way to upskill the existing workforce and offer career pathways and progression. She was London winner and finalist at the National Apprenticeship Awards 2022 & 2023

David has over 10 years’ experience working in professional bodies implementing Frameworks and Standards in large multinationals and central government. He joined Aptem in 2018, bringing with him a wealth of experience is SaaS technology for HR and training. 

Lucy Murcott is the Workforce Lead for the Black Country Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS), where she plays a pivotal role in shaping and delivering strategic workforce initiatives that support safer, more equitable, and more sustainable maternity and neonatal services. With a strong background in healthcare workforce planning and transformation, Lucy brings deep expertise in aligning staffing models with national priorities, such as the Ockenden Review and the NHS Long Term Plan.

Lucy is responsible for coordinating recruitment, retention, and training initiatives across the maternity and neonatal workforce in the Black Country region. She works closely with provider trusts, integrated care systems (ICS), NHS England, and education partners to ensure services are fully staffed with competent, compassionate professionals who can deliver high-quality care for women, babies, and families.

A passionate advocate for multidisciplinary collaboration and inclusive leadership, Lucy also leads on workforce equality, ensuring that LMNS workforce strategies reflect the diverse needs of the communities they serve. Her work is instrumental in driving continuous improvement in workforce culture, staff wellbeing, and service quality.

Head of People - resourcing and retention at Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust

The Operations Director role is a new one for the NHS Workforce Alliance, reporting to the Executive Board and responsible to all five member organisations. It was established as part of an emerging Project Management Office function to ensure the Alliance has a balance of full-time dedicated resources as well as allocated time from the talented people in the commercial, communications, finance, and data teams across the Alliance members.

In the simplest sense, it’s my role to ensure the Alliance achieves its ultimate ambition of being the workforce partner of choice across the NHS.

Nazir has over 20 years of experience working as an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Lead within the NHS. Throughout his career, he has played a pivotal role in shaping inclusive cultures by embedding EDI into the heart of workforce and organisational development strategies.

His approach is rooted in using improvement methodology and organisational development tools to bring EDI to life in a practical, meaningful way. Nazir is passionate about shifting EDI from policy to practice — supporting leaders, staff networks, and frontline teams to take ownership of the agenda and drive sustainable change.

With extensive experience in anti-racism work, inclusive recruitment, staff engagement, and health inequalities, Nazir brings a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the NHS workforce today. He champions the use of data, lived experience, and compassionate leadership as key levers for equity and belonging.

Nazir is currently leading several trust-wide programmes focused on Allyship, neurodiversity, and workforce inclusion, and is a strong advocate for creating psychologically safe environments where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.

Jacynth Ivey MBE is a highly sought after transformational leader, coach, and author with a distinctive ability to challenge mindsets and reframe leadership narratives. Recognised in the King’s Honours List for her services to nursing and diversity, Jacynth was recently awarded an MBE, cementing her influence and impact across sectors.

As a Non-Executive Director in the NHS, she leads on workforce and health inequalities and chairs the People & Culture Committee amplifying voices, influencing strategic direction, and driving equity-centred change.

With a clinical background and over two decades of senior leadership experience across health, social care, and business, Jacynth brings a dynamic and deeply informed perspective to workforce transformation, inclusive leadership, and organisational development.

She is passionate about shaping future ready systems, developing courageous leaders, and contributing to national debates on race equity, well-being, and systemic change. Whether advising boards, mentoring emerging talent, or speaking on high profile panels, Jacynth’s work consistently inspires action and impact.

As Arden & GEM’s Head of EDI , Usman works with NHS organisations and systems to deliver positive and sustainable workforce change by promoting and embedding the benefits of diversity and inclusion. With expert knowledge of each of the protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act, Usman chairs the NHS Midlands Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) Experts group and is a member of both national and regional groups and committees looking to advance equality and diversity in the health and care sector. Usman brings together his expertise, experience and networks to help create inclusive workplaces which value their staff while celebrating diversity and has recently won a number of awards for his work in delivering specialist BME leadership development programmes.