Future of Healthcare Staffing series - Update on NHS Workforce Strategy

Having just left his role as Senior Fellow in Health Policy at the Nuffield Trust, he has now joined the RCN as Director of Research where he seeks to build on his research which has a particular focus on the NHS workforce.

Previously a specialist manager at the National Audit Office with particular responsibilities for leading on health analytics, he has published reports on the NHS looking at, for example: staff contracts, hospital build projects, productivity, funding allocations, stroke care, and maternity services.

Billy also holds an honorary research fellowship at Imperial College London with academic work having a particular focus on the "weekend effect" in healthcare.

Mel has worked in the the People profession in the NHS since 1995. In her various roles she has worked for Acute, Community, Public Health, Mental health, Primary and Tertiary care as well as system lead for Diagnostics in NW London. 

Whilst the majority of her experience has been in Business Partnering and Employee Relations, more recently she has been working in transformation roles covering areas such as introducing new rostering systems, system wide recruitment for specialist roles, engaging education and community groups to widen accessibility to local entry level roles, creating short, medium and long term strategies and work plans and reducing competition between providers.

Following the completion of a sector wide role as Diagnostics Workforce Transformation Lead in March 2024, she has ventured once more into to a more traditionally “HR” role as Head of People and Organisational Development on 7th April 2025 at the Royal College of Nursing.