Healthcare contractors remain confident

Healthcare contractors are confident that demand for their services will remain high despite some on-going criticism of the NHS' use of external resources.

In a study of its healthcare contracting database, umbrella employment provider giant group, found that 87 per cent of those surveyed expect to see their earnings increase or remain level over the coming year. Almost half were expecting to find work in hospitals alone in the next 12 months.

This is in spite of on-going debates surrounding NHS budgets and funding as the General Election nears, with some commentators suggesting there needs to be a review of NHS outsourcing.

The positive contractor sentiment, however, appears to be indicative of the on-going skills shortages facing the healthcare arena and perhaps depicts a more realistic insight into the current situation within the NHS.

Matthew Brown, Managing Director of giant group, said: "The healthcare arena has long faced a shortage of talent, and with growing pressure on the NHS this gap between supply and demand will only widen.

"It's for this very reason that specialist contract staff remain positive despite some on-going negative media reports of the state of the healthcare arena. While the results of the general election could impact this demand, for now at least contractors can expect to remain highly sought after."

Earlier this week, contractors group, IPSE, defended the role of contractors in the public sector after reports that they were over-used.

In summer 2013, there were also reports that the Government promises of further investment in the NHS could lead to a rise in contracting opportunities in the sector.