Healthcare science: redefining our workforce

Understanding The Scientific Workforce in Scotland

Overview

While there is broad consensus that healthcare science is a distinct and vital profession drawing on scientific, engineering, and technological expertise to enhance individual and population health, the definition of a healthcare scientist varies across the globe, and even within the UK. The classification of roles and specialisms also differs between countries, highlighting the potential need for greater international collaboration and shared understanding as healthcare science continues to evolve.

There is growing recognition of the value of healthcare science across the UK and this presents a significant opportunity for healthcare science in Scotland to play a more prominent role in shaping the future of health and care delivery. By fully integrating the scientific workforce into national service planning and strategic decision-making, Scotland can unlock the full potential of healthcare science to improve outcomes and drive innovation.

The structure of the scientific workforce in Scotland has evolved over time, shaped by emerging specialisms and more focussed use of scientific practice in healthcare. In 2007 ‘Safe, Accurate, Effective: An Action Plan for Healthcare Science in NHS Scotland’ described scientific disciplines within health as being across three primary streams; life sciences, physiological sciences and physical sciences. This grew to four streams within ‘Driving Improvement, Delivering Results’ which was the Scottish Government’s Healthcare Science Delivery Plan final report, published in 2022.

In recent years, the application of science and technology in health has expanded significantly, accompanied by the emergence of new disciplines and professional specialisms, underscoring the imperative to strengthen and expand the scientific workforce. Growth has largely been organic and in response to new technologies, methods of care and population need which is positive but also presents challenges. At this point, greater standardisation across the profession will allow improved workforce planning and better understanding of the complexities of the profession will enable the scientific workforce to be more fully integrated in planning and delivery of high-quality care across all settings.

Effective planning and investment in Scotland’s Healthcare Science workforce depends on robust data insights. Accurate information on the number, roles, and locations of healthcare scientists is essential to guide strategic decisions, optimise workforce deployment, and ensure a skilled, adaptable, and future-ready workforce capable of meeting the evolving needs of patients and the health system.

Redefining the Scientific Workforce in Scotland

Logic modelling was undertaken to understand what actions should be taken to support the realisation of the ambitions, and ultimately the vision, set out in Healthcare Science in Scotland: Defining Our Strategic Approach. With regards to the first ambition, which this work relates to, this is summarised at Figure 3.

Aim

To ensure that the contibution of the healthcare science workforce to the health of the population is maximised.

Outcomes

• Enhance clarity regarding the role, scope and strategic value of healthcare scientists within NHS Scotland.
• A more comprehensive and accurate representation of the scientific workforce across the health system.

Activities

• Establish consistent definitions encompassing recognised professional groupings and specialisms across healthcare science. Implement workforce re-coding within HR systems to ensure accurate classification and visibility of healthcare science roles. Strengthen promotion and engagement efforts at both national and local levels to raise awareness and foster collaboration across the profession.
• To support progress, a short-life working group was convened comprising of representatives from across NHS Scotland and each of the four recognised professional streams within healthcare science. The group was tasked with progressing a core objective:
• We will simplify how we refer to our scientific workforce in Scotland – ensuring that there is a single definition for healthcare science as a whole, and for each stream of the profession, to create a more cohesive identity for the workforce.

To deliver on the objective, the short life working group (SLWG) considered the following in relation to healthcare science:

• Professional Identity
• Professional Groupings
• Definitions
• Specialisms and Roles

To support this initiative, the Scottish Government convened a series of national engagement events, held both in-person and online, with active participation from key stakeholders and leadership from the Chief Scientific Officer for Scotland. These sessions provided a platform for the scientific workforce to contribute insights and perspectives on proposals to streamline and strengthen the profession’s identity.

Following initial discussion, members of the SLWG engaged directly with their respective professional communities to ensure comprehensive representation of all current specialisms and roles. The decision was made not to extend into sub-specialisms, in order to avoid unnecessary complexity – a key principle of this work as a whole.

As part of wider engagement around the proposals, engagement was also undertaken by the Scottish Government with key stakeholders including professional bodies, NHS Boards and international experts. The process for this work is outlined at Figure 4.

Short Life Working Group

Target stakeholder roundtables

Key stakeholder direct engagement

Consolidation and publication

Implementation