Report

Rethinking placement: Increasing clinical placement efficacy for a sustainable NHS future

This report from UK think tank HEPI looks at how bold action is needed to fix the NHS clinical placement crisis.

A fundamental rethink of how the NHS trains its future workforce is urgently needed, according to a new paper from the Higher Education Policy Institute, Rethinking Placement: Increasing Clinical Placement Efficacy for a Sustainable NHS Future (HEPI Report 194).

The paper, written by senior leaders from the University of East London (UEL), argues that the National Health Service (NHS) cannot achieve its ambitious workforce goals without bold system-wide reform of how students gain real-world experience – the essential bridge between classroom learning and frontline care.

The HEPI Report, which has been published with the support of the Council for Deans of Health, sets out a blueprint for transforming placement provision across the health and care sectors. Drawing on best practice across London through UEL partner organisations, it urges policymakers, universities and NHS providers to move beyond the narrow goal of simply increasing numbers and to focus instead on removing systemic barriers to create placements that are equitable, flexible, digitally enabled and aligned with the future of healthcare delivery.

Authored by Professor Amanda Broderick, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of East London, and Robert Waterson, Executive Dean of UEL’s School of Health, Sport and Bioscience, the report highlights the growing strain on the system, with more than 106,000 vacancies across secondary care and a shortfall of placement opportunities for health students.

It also challenges ‘legacy assumptions’ and outlines a series of practical interventions to make placements more effective and sustainable. These include greater use of simulation and digital learning, new supervision frameworks that ease pressure on clinical staff and community-based models that widen access to diverse learning environments. It points to pioneering examples across the UK – including UEL’s own simulation-based and telehealth placements – as proof that innovation can expand capacity without compromising quality or safety.

Working hand-in-hand with NHS providers, universities can help reimagine supervision models, expand simulation-based training and pilot technology-led learning that mirrors the realities of modern healthcare. The authors warn that without urgent reform, student learning, workforce readiness and patient safety will all be at risk.