The NHS 10 Year Plan: What It Means for Workforce and People Leaders
The newly published NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England sets out a bold and necessary vision for the future of healthcare. For those working in workforce, HR, and people development roles, it’s more than a policy document, it’s a roadmap for how we’ll need to lead, support, and shape the NHS workforce over the next decade.
The newly published NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England sets out a bold and necessary vision for the future of healthcare. For those working in workforce, HR, and people development roles, it’s more than a policy document, it’s a roadmap for how we’ll need to lead, support, and shape the NHS workforce over the next decade.
A System in Urgent Need of Renewal
The plan acknowledges the scale of the challenge: long waits, staff burnout, and widening health inequalities. But it also offers a clear direction of travel towards a more preventative, personalised, and digitally enabled health service.
For workforce leaders, this means preparing for a future where:
Care is delivered differently. Closer to home, more integrated, and increasingly supported by digital tools.
Staff roles evolve. With greater autonomy, new skillsets, and more flexible career pathways.
Learning and development become central. Not just to compliance, but to transformation.
Key Themes with Workforce Implications
1. Empowering Staff to Lead Change
The plan calls for frontline staff to be trusted and supported to innovate. This will require a shift in culture towards distributed leadership, continuous improvement, and psychologically safe environments where people can test new ideas.
Digital learning platforms like Totara, already used by many NHS organisations, can help embed this culture by making leadership development and improvement training more accessible and relevant to staff at all levels.
2. Investing in Skills for the Future
Digital transformation is a major theme. From virtual wards to AI-assisted diagnostics, the NHS will need a workforce that is confident and capable in using new technologies. This means rethinking how we deliver digital literacy, clinical upskilling, and leadership development at scale.
Solutions that allow for modular, role-specific learning, such as those offered by Think Learning, can support this shift by enabling Trusts to deliver targeted training that evolves with the needs of the service.
3. Supporting Career Flexibility and Retention
With retention a growing concern, the plan highlights the need for more flexible roles, better career progression, and support for wellbeing. HR and OD teams will play a key role in designing systems that enable this through agile workforce planning, inclusive policies, and responsive learning pathways.
Learning systems that integrate with workforce data can help identify gaps, track development, and support personalised career journeys, something Think Learning and Totara have supported through working with NHS Trusts.
4. Tackling Inequalities Inside and Out
The plan’s focus on health inequalities also applies to the workforce. Ensuring equitable access to development opportunities, addressing structural barriers, and using data to identify and close gaps will be essential.
Platforms that provide insightful analytics, including equality, diversity, and inclusion metrics, can help HR leaders take action where it’s needed most. Think Learning’s reporting tools are already being used in this way by several NHS organisations.
"We’re seeing a real shift in how NHS organisations approach workforce development, not just as a priority for care quality, but as a driver of efficiency and productivity. The 10-Year Plan echoes what many of our partners already recognise: that investing in people, skills, and inclusive learning systems is key to unlocking capacity and improving outcomes. Our role is to help make that transformation more streamlined, measurable, and results driven."
Matt Mundey, Head of Customer Success, Think Learning a Totara Company
Looking Ahead
The NHS 10 Year Plan is a call to reimagine not just how we deliver care, but how we support the people who deliver it. For HR, workforce, and people leaders, this is a moment to lead with purpose; championing the systems, cultures, and capabilities that will shape the NHS of the future.
As the plan makes clear, transformation won’t happen without investment in people. And that’s where the work of workforce leaders supported by the right tools, partnerships, and insights will be absolutely vital.
Explore What’s Possible
If you’re exploring how to align your learning and workforce strategies with the NHS 10 Year Plan, we’d be happy to show you how other NHS organisations are approaching it. Book a personalised demo with Think Learning to see how our platform can support your goals.