The NHS’s ‘non-jobs’ bonanza?

Wednesday-Thursday blog

Some people might have the impression that ‘our’ NHS is in crisis. There are over seven million on waiting lists, the junior doctors are on strike yet again, other NHS employees are considering strike action, our survival rates for some cancers are the lowest of 18 OECD countries and compensation for inadequate treatment reached a record level in 2024-5.

Given this situation, one might have thought that NHS bosses would be focusing their highly-paid managerial skills on dealing with some of the above issues. Sadly for us who pay around £188.5 billion a year for our NHS, this doesn’t seem to be the case. I have written previously in the Daily Sceptic about the large number of DIE (Diversity, Inclusion and Equality) staff the NHS keeps recruiting, even though the NHS workforce is already much more diverse than the overall British population. But last week, I noticed a possibly new trend in our NHS recruitment policies – a proliferation of what some people might see as ‘non-jobs’ as they appear to have very little to do with the key problems the NHS is facing.

Here are just a few examples.

The Bedfordshire NHS Foundation Trust is looking for a ‘Freedom of Information Officer’ on Â£27,485-£30,162 a year. The job ad tells us:

The Freedom of Information Officer will be a member of the Information Governance (IG) Department which is made up of the Head of Information Governance, IG Manager, Deputy IG Manager, IG Officers and IG Administrators/SAR.

This suggests that there are rather a lot of managers and staff in the Bedfordshire NHS Foundation Trust ‘Information Governance’ department. If joining the Bedfordshire â€˜Information Governance’ crowd appeals to you, here’s a link to the job ad.

The Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust is hiring a part-time ‘Patient Champion’ on Â£37,259-£45,356 a year. Here’s the first part of the job description:

This role is a unique opportunity to support the Trust in the development of this service, and healthcare for the trans community at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. This includes implementing our vision of creating a high quality, patient centered [sic] service that will deliver life-changing benefits to patients. Our principles are based on patients having equal access to surgical services whatever their gender identity with reasonable adjustments to the delivery of care to match the individual’s needs and circumstances. The role of the Patient Champion is to develop an in-depth understanding of the needs of trans patients, representing their interests in the development of gender affirming services in the Trust.

I, of course, have no idea of how many “trans” people there are in Chelsea and Westminster who require hospital treatment. But I do wonder whether the money being spent on the person who gets this job wouldn’t be better directed to other NHS priorities. However, if you feel this job is perfect for you to make your unique contribution to our nation’s health, here’s a link to the job ad.

Up north, Carlisle Council and its healthcare services are looking for a ‘Neurodiversity and Emotional Wellbeing Service Lead’ on Â£56,883-£59,198 a year. This person will:

Develop and manage an exciting pilot programme that aims to provide early intervention support to children and young people with neurodiversity and emotional wellbeing needs. The service will provide a single integrated and trauma-informed neurodiversity and emotional wellbeing offer aimed at children, young people and families, that supports people to recognise and manage a wide range of experiences and thinking styles as part of normal life, with specialist support available as appropriate.

Then a little further up north, NHS Scotland is hiring an ‘Environmental Sustainability Manager’ on Â£41,608-£50,702 a year. This person will:

Manage projects in the NHS Lothian Climate Change and Sustainable Development Framework and action plan other specified projects, working closely with Sustainable Development Colleagues, Heads of Service, relevant clinical, technical, estates, facilities and environmental teams. Initiate and manage change and service redesign in relation to sustainability projects managed, identifying the operational requirements of the non-clinical as well as clinical services, where impacted developing policies, procedures and protocols for these services in the implementation of change. Monitor and report on projects through implementation to the embedding of change.

Quite what contribution an Environmental Sustainability Manager will bring to the NHS’s pressing issues like lowering hospital waiting lists, improving cancer care or reducing patient harm due to poor treatment escapes me for the moment.

These are just a few examples from an email I received last week detailing current NHS job vacancies. Reading through them, I do wonder whether NHS management really is laser-focused on the problems the public are most concerned about with ‘our’ NHS.