NHS needs more engineers claims IMechE report

In the report Healthcare Solutions: Elevating the Engineering Workforce, the Institution said that with patient numbers rising, and healthcare technology advancing rapidly, new engineers with clinical and technical skills are needed to ensure that technology is being deployed efficiently and effectively across the health service.

The report also calls for healthcare engineers to have increased authority and decision-making powers to encourage recruitment and ensure new technology is designed and adopted in the safest, most effective way.

“If we are to learn from global crises such as the COVID pandemic, it is that 21st century medicine can only be delivered with significant amounts of technology and, that care at home is just as critical as care in hospitals,” said Dr Helen Meese, lead author of the report and Vice Chair of the Institution’s Biomedical Engineering Division.

The NHS has a workforce of around 1.5 million people, but the number of clinical engineers is relatively small compared to this, around 3000-3,500 professionals.