Primary Care Workforce Quarterly Update, 30 June 2022, Experimental Statistics

This publication presents two different measures of full-time equivalent (FTE) primary care workforce statistics - Primary Care Workforce FTE for all staff groups as reported through the National Workforce Reporting Service (NWRS), and an enhanced view of direct patient care (DPC) FTE using Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) data in combination with NWRS data to form what we are calling the ‘collated’ FTE.

From May 2022, the FTE reported by general practices and Primary Care Networks (PCNs) through the NWRS for all four staff groups (GPs, nurses, DPC and admin/non-clinical) were brought together in this publication for the first time. Workforce statistics from these two settings were up until May 2022 only presented separately, in the monthly General Practice Workforce and quarterly Primary Care Network Workforce series of statistics.

Due to the difficulty in identifying the same individuals in the two datasets, headcount figures cannot be calculated but will continue to be produced for the general practice workforce and the PCN workforce separately in the respective dedicated publications. 

The FTE figures presented in the Primary Care Workforce (NWRS only) Bulletin Tables have been calculated by summing the FTE for each job role, where that role is common across the two primary care settings. Where a role is unique to one setting or the other, the FTE will be the same as published in the relevant publication.

The Primary Care Workforce, England - full-time equivalent (FTE) Nurses, Direct Patient Care and Admin/non-clinical staff bulletin tables present these figures for all staff groups excluding GPs.

The combined FTE for the GP staff group is presented separately in the Primary Care Workforce, England - full-time equivalent (FTE) GPs bulletin tables, and this file is added to the publication page four weeks after the release date. This is because, unlike within the General Practice Workforce publication, the FTE of ‘ad-hoc’ locums is presented and included in the overall GP FTE in this publication. Data about ‘ad-hoc’ locums takes two months to mature due to a known time lag between activity and reporting and so the staggered release of the GP bulletin table file allows for the most up-to-date and accurate 'ad-hoc’ locum FTE to be included. See the General Practice Workforce publication for a detailed definition of ‘ad-hoc’ locums and how the supply of information about them via NWRS differs to all other roles, including ‘regular’ locums.

It is important to note that the General Practice Workforce and PCN Workforce figures from which these combined FTE figures are summed have been calculated using slightly different methodologies. The General Practice Workforce FTE figures include partially estimated FTE (where hours information for an individual is missing), as well as FTE calculated from fully-estimated records, where practices did not supply information about an entire staff group. See this detailed explanation of our full and partial estimation methodology.

Conversely, the FTE figures from the PCN workforce include no estimations. This is because PCNs have the autonomy to decide at a local level which posts to fill and to agree collaboratively on the composition of their workforces according to the particular needs of their patient populations. As a result, it is inappropriate to use data provided by some PCNs to make assumptions about the workforce requirements and patient needs of another PCN which has supplied incomplete information or no data at all.

Because we do not calculate fully estimated records in the PCN Workforce statistics, and as of June 2022, only 85.4% of active PCNS were providing valid data through NWRS with that coverage rate lower still in previous quarters, the FTE figures presented in the Primary Care Workforce FTE (NWRS only) tables are likely to be under-counts.

However, by triangulating NWRS data with that received from PCNs when claiming for staff under the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), we can calculate a more accurate picture of overall FTE. As the roles which are covered by the scheme are all within the DPC staff group, this comparison can only be made for DPC roles.

Non-ARRS roles have been included in the collated FTE tables and all DPC collated FTE totals, but where the role is not part of the scheme, the figure is based entirely on information provided via NWRS and does not include the claims element. 

It should be noted that, even where the NWRS data is from the general practice setting, only partial estimates are included in the NWRS elements of the collated figure and FTE from fully-estimated records has been excluded (unlike with the Primary Care Workforce FTE NWRS only tables). See the Methodology page for a detailed explanation of the collated figure calculations.

The collated FTE is intended to provide as accurate a picture as possible of the DPC workforce across general practice and PCNs, to be used to monitor progress towards manifesto targets and the uptake of the ARRS. Therefore, the  Primary Care Workforce, England - collated full-time equivalent (FTE) - Direct Patient Care staff,  bulletin file presents the net change in FTE since the March 2019 baseline for each job role (tables 1a and 2a).  Tables 1b and 2b present the total collated FTE (March 2019 baseline plus the net change collated figure).

The accompanying CSV also presents the March 2019 baseline FTE, as well as the additional NWRS elements which have comprised the calculation for each job role and PCN. For a full explanation of the collated FTE methodology, please see the Methodology section.

Excel Bulletin Tables - England and regional-level tables

• Primary Care Workforce, England - full-time equivalent (FTE) Nurses, Direct Patient Care and Admin/non-clinical staff, September 2021 onwards
• Primary Care Workforce, England - full-time equivalent (FTE) GPs, September 2021 onwards (released four weeks after initial publication date)
• Primary Care Workforce, England - collated full-time equivalent (FTE) - Direct Patient Care staff, September 2021 onwards

CSV – collated FTE

• PCN-level file presenting the 2018/19 baseline FTE along with, for the latest quarter, the NWRS FTE, the collated net change since March 2019 and the total collated FTE (baseline plus net change), for each DPC job role
   

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