🩺 Health Skills #13

In this week’s roundup, Wisconsin is investing $5.6M over five years to improve healthcare worker well-being, while the federal government under Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is cutting 10,000 jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services, eliminating programs focused on HIV prevention, minority health, and emergency preparedness. In the UK, despite having a trained GP workforce, a 44% drop in funded roles has left many doctors unemployed, forcing some to work abroad or outside the healthcare sector. 

In workforce development, Wisconsin awarded $1.97M in grants to upskill over 760 workers across healthcare and other industries. Australia launched a $129M Care Economy CRC with federal support to drive innovation and workforce training in aged, disability, and mental health care. Nigeria committed N110B to upgrade medical training in 18 universities, aiming to expand enrollment and improve healthcare education.

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Healthcare Labor Market Trends

🧠 Wisconsin invests $5.6M to fight healthcare worker burnout and build a stronger health workforce. The Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment (AHW) announced a $5.6M investment over five years to enhance the professional well-being of the state's health workforce. The investment aims to reduce stigma, boost job satisfaction, and ensure better patient care through a more stable, resilient workforce.

💥 Kennedy’s “AHA” overhaul slashes 10,000 HHS jobs, dismantles public health protections. The federal government is cutting 10,000 jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services, closing or downsizing offices that focus on HIV prevention, minority health, and emergency preparedness. Key agencies like the CDC, FDA, and NIH will lose thousands of staff, as programs are merged into a new “Administration for Healthy America.” 

🩺 ​UK Faces GP Workforce Crisis Despite Trained Doctors. The UK is experiencing a shortage of funded General Practitioner (GP) positions, despite having a ready and willing workforce. Thousands of trained doctors are being turned away from GP training and employment due to frozen recruitment and a lack of funding, despite a clear public need. A 44% reduction in available GP jobs in 2024 has led to rising unemployment among fully trained GPs, compelling some to seek employment abroad or in unrelated fields. 

UK GP Workforce Stagnates As Trainee Growth Fails to Offset Declining Partner Numbers

👩🏾‍⚕️ Overall GP numbers are flattening: Despite a steady pipeline of trained doctors, the total number of full-time equivalent (FTE) GPs has remained relatively flat from 2015 to 2025, hovering around the 35,000–37,000 mark.

📉 Decline in GP partners: The number of GP partners who are the most experienced and decision-making practitioners has steadily declined year over year.

🧑‍⚕️ Trainees are increasing or stable: The number of trainees has grown or held steady, depicting that the system is producing doctors, but indicating a bottleneck in the pipeline in transitioning them into permanent salaried or partner roles.

Upskilling/ Reskilling Intiatives

🏥 Wisconsin upskills 760+ workers with $1.7M in training grants. The Department of Workforce Development of the US awards $1.97M to 14 employers for upskilling unemployed, underemployed, and incumbent workers in healthcare, construction, manufacturing, and more. Funded programs include CNA Plus Geriatrics and engineering pathway training, with a focus on full-time employment and wage growth.

💡 $129M care tech CRC to boost workforce innovation across Australia. Griffith University joins 60 partners in the $129M Care Economy CRC, backed by $35M federal funding, to develop tech-enabled care solutions and upskill workers in aged care, disability, mental health, and community health. The initiative focuses on workforce capability, care tech, and data systems through a decade-long, La Trobe-led national collaboration.

💊 Nigeria commits N110B to upgrade medical training in 18 universities. The Federal Government, via TETFund, launches a N110B High Impact Intervention Project to rehabilitate medical schools across all six geo-political zones, enhancing training in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and nursing. Each institution will receive ~ N4B for infrastructure, including hostels and simulation labs, to upskill future healthcare professionals and boost enrolment over five years.

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