My first few months at Morgan Law have proven to be interesting and action-packed! We have a new Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, whose new package of measures to support the healthcare system includes an increase in the number of support staff, a drive to improve appointment systems with new technology and an increase in the amount of data available with appointment data to be published at practice level for the first time.
Elsewhere, new digital transformation projects have been launched for Integrated Care Systems (ICS) to help boards use new technologies and data to deliver services more effectively. But worryingly we’ve seen incidents of cyber-attacks that have put services at risk including a ransomware attack on NHS software provider, Advanced, which has led to the loss of customer data and widespread disruption to NHS 111 operations.
Increases in NHS hiring may have boosted Public Sector and Central Government employment numbers in the second quarter of 2022. However, low pay threatens NHS staffing levels, contributing to high levels of turnover amongst staff and difficulties in attracting new talent. Strike action is being seriously considered by NHS trade unions representing nursing, administration, and support staff.
Current Hiring Challenges for the Healthcare Sector
In my opinion the biggest difficulties facing hiring managers and recruiters in the healthcare sector for 2023 will be:
- Digital Transformation
Digital transformations remain front and centre in the public healthcare sector. As the government continues to push for a digital-first NHS, hiring managers across the NHS are focussed on recruiting to support digital projects, ensure uptake of digital solutions remains steady and making sure digital transformations remain inclusive. - Ensuring IT and digital infrastructures are modernised to be able to cope with new technology
One of the major challenges for digital transformations in healthcare is the need to archive, replace, maintain, and modernise legacy systems. Half of NHS trusts say the complexity of legacy systems as well as a lack of technical expertise is making it difficult for them to keep pace with technological change and making further digital improvements. - Integrations and Interoperability
Organisations across the healthcare sector and beyond in the public sector are seeing the benefits of integrating their digital systems to aid collaboration. These are complex and delicate projects with a great deal of opportunities for technology specialists with experience in designing and implementing integrations, cyber security and
In-demand roles in the Healthcare Technology sector as we go into 2023
Looking at the climate for healthcare technology hiring as we move into the next year many hiring managers will be concerned with the challenges surrounding getting the work force back on site and transition from fully remote to a mixture hybrid and in-office working models. At Morgan Law we maintain a large database of candidates meaning we can find the ideal candidate whatever your requirements.
There is also increasing pressure surrounding spending efficiency in hiring. Trusts are concerned with getting the greatest return on their investment when it comes to technology skills and expertise. This can pose a problem, public sector compensation is often perceived as poor when compared with the private sector, often with reason making it difficult to secure the best talent. However, Morgan Law can advise on market conditions and provide guidance how to get the best ROI from your tech talent whilst working to client’s budget constraints.
In a similar vein, many tech candidates are looking at their options and to secure higher compensation are switching to consulting and outside IR35 roles. To support public sector employers, Morgan Law offers fixed term and permanent solutions; we can also advise on whether a role has the scope to be outside IR35.
When it comes to in-demand skills right now and over the next 6 months I anticipate we’ll see an increase in roles such as:
- eRostering Specialist
- Solid IT Project Managers at bands 7 – 8b
- Infrastructure Specialists
- Digital Programme Managers
- Technical Architects
- Data Warehouse Developers
- Clinical Application Specialist
- SQL Developers
Learn more about how Adam and Morgan Law can assist you with Healthcare and Healthcare Technology hiring.
At Morgan Law we take the time to develop a full understanding of your requirements, meeting with you to discuss challenges and offer advice on the availability of talent in the market and how to improve your existing practices. Our established database of over 30,000 senior-level, highly skilled professionals with significant experience in the healthcare, public and not-for-profit sectors available on a permanent and contract basis enable us to deliver the highest quality recruitment solutions.
Adam joined Morgan Law in 2022 as the Director for Healthcare Technology specialising in both permanent and temporary IT, Project Management, CIO, and Infrastructure appointments. Adam has worked in recruitment for 20 years managing and developing teams across the private and public sector. For the past 12 years he has worked specifically in Healthcare across all back-office functions including Technology, Finance, Commissioning, Operations, Risk and Governance, Communications and Corporate Services