NHS workforce
Published
1. Main facts and figures
- as at March 2019, over 1.2 million people were employed by the NHS
- of NHS staff whose ethnicity was known, 4 out of 5 (79.2%) were White (including White ethnic minorities), and 1 in 5 (20.7%) were from all other ethnic groups
- there was a higher percentage of staff in medical roles (working as doctors in hospitals and community health services) from the Asian, Chinese, Mixed and Other ethnic groups than in non-medical roles
- among the non-medical workforce, staff from the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups made up a smaller number of those at senior grades (bands 8a to 9) and the ‘very senior manager’ grade than at the support (bands 1 to 4) and middle grades (bands 5 to 7)
- a higher percentage of junior doctors were from the Black, Chinese, Mixed and Other groups than senior doctors
Things you need to know
This data includes staff directly employed by the NHS in about 230 trusts and 200 clinical commissioning groups.
The data doesn’t include:
- staff working in primary care, like GPs and dentists in dental practices
- staff working in NHS support organisations, and central bodies like commissioning support units and NHS Digital
- agency staff and contractors
The data is based on the number of NHS staff regardless of whether they work part time or full time.
As some staff may work in more than one role, the number of staff in the tables will not add up to the overall workforce.
Ethnicity wasn’t known for 4.7% of NHS staff. Percentages are based only on staff whose ethnicity is known. They may be different from the numbers included in the source publication.
Download the data for figures from 2010 to 2019.
What the data measures
This data measures the number and percentage of NHS staff working in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England. It is broken down by ethnicity, pay grade and type of role (medical or non-medical).
‘Medical’ staff are doctors working for hospitals and community health services, grouped into 3 tiers:
- senior doctors (consultants, associate specialists, speciality and staff grade doctors)
- junior doctors (specialty registrars, doctors in core training, and foundation doctors years 1 and 2)
- other doctors (hospital practitioners and clinical assistants, and doctors whose grade couldn’t be classified)
‘Non-medical’ staff include:
- clinical staff (nurses and health visitors, ambulance staff, midwives, and scientific, therapeutic and technical staff)
- staff working in managerial, administrative and support roles
Most non-medical staff are graded from 1 to 9 (with band 9 being the most senior). These grades have been grouped as follows:
- support grades (bands 1 to 4) including administrative assistants, receptionists, healthcare support workers and healthcare assistants (non-graduate entry roles)
- middle-level grades (bands 5 to 7) including registered healthcare professionals (like nurses), project managers, and other administrative and clerical staff
- senior grades (bands 8a to 9) including advanced nurse practitioners, specialist administrative staff, managers, senior managers and heads of services or directorates
There are also:
- staff on the ‘very senior manager’ grade (who are usually graduates)
- other grades including apprentices, and staff not on the main grade structure (who could be in junior or senior roles)
The ethnic categories used in this data
The data was collected using the standardised ethnic categories based on the 2001 Census. It is grouped into the following broad categories to reduce the risk of people being identifiable:
- Asian
- Black
- Chinese
- Mixed/Multiple ethnicities
- White
- Other
2. By ethnicity
| Ethnicity | % | Headcount | % working age population (2011) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian | 10.0 | 118,396 | 7.2 |
| Black | 6.1 | 72,321 | 3.4 |
| Chinese | 0.6 | 6,536 | 0.9 |
| Mixed | 1.7 | 20,607 | 1.8 |
| White | 79.2 | 934,544 | 85.6 |
| Other | 2.3 | 27,169 | 1.1 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of NHS workforce By ethnicity Summary
This data shows that:
- as at March 2019, over 1.2 million people were employed by NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England
- out of staff whose ethnicity was known, White staff made up 79.2% of the NHS workforce, followed by Asian staff (10.0%), Black staff (6.1%), staff from the Other ethnic group (2.3%), staff with Mixed ethnicity (1.7%) and staff from the Chinese ethnic group (0.6%)
- the percentage of NHS staff from the Asian, Black and Other ethnic groups was higher than the percentage of the working age population from the same ethnic groups
3. By ethnicity and type of role
| Medical | Non Medical | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Medical % | Medical Headcount | Non Medical % | Non Medical Headcount |
| All | N/A* | 119,597 | N/A* | 1,121,103 |
| Asian | 29.7 | 32,308 | 8.0 | 86,243 |
| Black | 4.6 | 5,045 | 6.3 | 67,398 |
| Chinese | 2.5 | 2,757 | 0.4 | 3,787 |
| Mixed | 3.2 | 3,468 | 1.6 | 17,166 |
| White | 55.6 | 60,400 | 81.6 | 876,304 |
| Other | 4.3 | 4,698 | 2.1 | 22,501 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 10,921 | N/A* | 47,704 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and type of role’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and type of role’ (CSV)
Summary of NHS workforce By ethnicity and type of role Summary
This data shows that:
- as at March 2019, around 9 out of 10 people employed by NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England were working in non-medical roles (and 1 in 10 were in medical roles)
- White people made up a higher percentage of non-medical staff (at 81.6%) than medical staff (at 55.6%)
- Black people also made up a higher percentage of the non-medical staff (6.3%) than medical staff (4.6%)
- however, Asian people made up a higher percentage of medical staff (at 29.7%) than non-medical staff (at 8.0%)
- staff from the Chinese, Mixed, and Other ethnic groups also made up a higher percentage of medical staff than non-medical staff
4. By ethnicity and broad grade (non-medical staff)
| Asian | Black | Chinese | Mixed | White | Other | Unknown | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broad grade | Asian % | Asian Headcount | Black % | Black Headcount | Chinese % | Chinese Headcount | Mixed % | Mixed Headcount | White % | White Headcount | Other % | Other Headcount | Unknown % | Unknown Headcount |
| Very Senior Manager | 4.6 | 92 | 1.2 | 25 | 0.2 | 4 | 0.8 | 17 | 92.9 | 1,869 | 0.2 | 5 | N/A* | 200 |
| Senior (Bands 8a-9) | 6.1 | 4,430 | 3.5 | 2,551 | 0.6 | 471 | 1.4 | 1,013 | 87.5 | 63,724 | 0.9 | 659 | N/A* | 2,660 |
| Middle (Bands 5-7) | 8.9 | 47,686 | 6.7 | 36,017 | 0.4 | 2,408 | 1.6 | 8,499 | 79.8 | 428,748 | 2.6 | 14,217 | N/A* | 22,796 |
| Support (Bands 1-4) | 7.3 | 33,330 | 6.2 | 28,393 | 0.2 | 905 | 1.6 | 7,503 | 82.9 | 377,321 | 1.6 | 7,481 | N/A* | 19,920 |
| Other grade | 8.1 | 1,081 | 5.0 | 673 | 0.2 | 31 | 1.8 | 235 | 83.3 | 11,144 | 1.6 | 208 | N/A* | 2,345 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and broad grade (non-medical staff)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and broad grade (non-medical staff)’ (CSV)
Summary of NHS workforce By ethnicity and broad grade (non-medical staff) Summary
This data shows that:
- 18.4% of the non-medical workforce was made up of staff from the Asian, Black, Chinese, Mixed and Other ethnic groups combined
- staff from the same ethnic groups made up 7.0% of people in the ‘very senior manager’ grade, and 12.5% in senior grades (bands 8a to 9)
- there were lower percentages of staff from the Asian, Black, Chinese, Mixed and Other ethnic groups at senior (bands 8a to 9) and ‘very senior manager’ grades than at the support (bands 1 to 4) and middle grades (bands 5 to 7)
5. By ethnicity and specific grade (non-medical staff)
| Asian | Black | Chinese | Mixed | White | Other | Unknown | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specific grade | Asian % | Asian Headcount | Black % | Black Headcount | Chinese % | Chinese Headcount | Mixed % | Mixed Headcount | White % | White Headcount | Other % | Other Headcount | Unknown % | Unknown Headcount |
| Graduate entry grades | ||||||||||||||
| Very Senior Manager | 4.6 | 92 | 1.2 | 25 | 0.2 | 4 | 0.8 | 17 | 92.9 | 1,869 | 0.2 | 5 | N/A* | 200 |
| Band 9 | 3.9 | 61 | 2.1 | 33 | 0.3 | 5 | 1.1 | 18 | 92.2 | 1,457 | 0.4 | 7 | N/A* | 92 |
| Band 8d | 3.5 | 140 | 2.3 | 91 | 0.4 | 18 | 1.1 | 45 | 92.3 | 3,716 | 0.4 | 15 | N/A* | 191 |
| Band 8c | 4.6 | 382 | 2.9 | 241 | 0.4 | 32 | 1.3 | 110 | 90.1 | 7,449 | 0.7 | 58 | N/A* | 334 |
| Band 8b | 5.7 | 937 | 3.2 | 529 | 0.6 | 103 | 1.3 | 205 | 88.3 | 14,419 | 0.8 | 134 | N/A* | 586 |
| Band 8a | 6.8 | 2,910 | 3.9 | 1,657 | 0.7 | 313 | 1.5 | 635 | 86.0 | 36,683 | 1.0 | 445 | N/A* | 1,457 |
| Band 7 | 6.4 | 7,664 | 5.0 | 5,930 | 0.6 | 660 | 1.4 | 1,681 | 85.1 | 101,603 | 1.6 | 1,865 | N/A* | 4,254 |
| Band 6 | 7.4 | 15,106 | 6.1 | 12,605 | 0.4 | 913 | 1.5 | 3,079 | 82.4 | 168,917 | 2.2 | 4,440 | N/A* | 7,970 |
| Band 5 | 11.7 | 24,916 | 8.2 | 17,482 | 0.4 | 835 | 1.8 | 3,739 | 74.2 | 158,228 | 3.7 | 7,912 | N/A* | 10,572 |
| Non-graduate entry grades | ||||||||||||||
| Band 4 | 6.7 | 6,454 | 5.2 | 5,027 | 0.3 | 246 | 1.7 | 1,590 | 85.0 | 81,757 | 1.1 | 1,070 | N/A* | 3,700 |
| Band 3 | 6.4 | 9,409 | 6.5 | 9,577 | 0.2 | 274 | 1.6 | 2,415 | 83.8 | 123,160 | 1.4 | 2,050 | N/A* | 6,073 |
| Band 2 | 8.0 | 14,418 | 6.4 | 11,527 | 0.2 | 318 | 1.6 | 2,939 | 81.7 | 147,028 | 2.0 | 3,647 | N/A* | 7,913 |
| Band 1 | 9.5 | 3,049 | 7.1 | 2,262 | 0.2 | 67 | 1.7 | 559 | 79.2 | 25,376 | 2.2 | 714 | N/A* | 2,234 |
| Unspecified | ||||||||||||||
| Other grades | 8.1 | 1,081 | 5.0 | 673 | 0.2 | 31 | 1.8 | 235 | 83.3 | 11,144 | 1.6 | 208 | N/A* | 2,345 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and specific grade (non-medical staff)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and specific grade (non-medical staff)’ (CSV)
Summary of NHS workforce By ethnicity and specific grade (non-medical staff) Summary
This data shows that:
- as at March 2019, the percentage of NHS non-medical staff from the White ethnic group, increased as grades became more senior – this was found in both non-graduate entry grades (bands 1 to 4) and graduate entry grades (band 5 to very senior manager)
- in the graduate entry grades (band 5 to very senior manager), staff from the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups made up a smaller percentage of senior grades than junior grades – for example, Black staff made up 8.2% of the workforce in band 5, compared with 1.2% of those in ‘very senior manager’ grades
- similarly, among the non-graduate entry grades (bands 1 to 4), staff from the Asian, Black, and Other ethnic groups made up a smaller proportion of senior grades than junior grades – for example, Asian staff made up 6.7% of the workforce in band 4 (the most senior non-graduate entry band), compared with 9.5% in band 1 (the most junior)
6. By ethnicity and grade (medical staff)
| Asian | Black | Chinese | Mixed | White | Other | Unknown | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade | Asian % | Asian Headcount | Black % | Black Headcount | Chinese % | Chinese Headcount | Mixed % | Mixed Headcount | White % | White Headcount | Other % | Other Headcount | Unknown % | Unknown Headcount |
| All grades | 29.7 | 32,308 | 4.6 | 5,045 | 2.5 | 2,757 | 3.2 | 3,468 | 55.6 | 60,400 | 4.3 | 4,698 | N/A* | 10,921 |
| Senior Doctor (Career Grade) | ||||||||||||||
| Consultant | 28.6 | 13,704 | 2.9 | 1,405 | 2.1 | 985 | 2.3 | 1,092 | 60.7 | 29,091 | 3.5 | 1,664 | N/A* | 3,102 |
| Associate Specialist | 40.6 | 818 | 5.2 | 104 | 0.8 | 16 | 2.9 | 59 | 41.5 | 837 | 9.1 | 183 | N/A* | 131 |
| Specialty Doctor | 43.6 | 3,281 | 6.2 | 467 | 0.9 | 71 | 3.3 | 249 | 38.4 | 2,888 | 7.5 | 565 | N/A* | 682 |
| Staff Grade | 38.0 | 108 | 7.0 | 20 | 1.1 | 3 | 3.5 | 10 | 42.6 | 121 | 7.7 | 22 | N/A* | 29 |
| Junior Doctor (Training and equivalent) | ||||||||||||||
| Specialty Registrar | 29.1 | 8,018 | 6.5 | 1,782 | 3.4 | 943 | 4.1 | 1,136 | 52.1 | 14,383 | 4.8 | 1,322 | N/A* | 3,578 |
| Core Training | 30.2 | 3,182 | 7.2 | 759 | 3.2 | 333 | 4.2 | 439 | 50.1 | 5,274 | 5.1 | 537 | N/A* | 1,451 |
| Foundation Doctor Year 1 | 26.0 | 1,420 | 4.4 | 238 | 3.7 | 204 | 4.3 | 233 | 58.5 | 3,194 | 3.1 | 167 | N/A* | 843 |
| Foundation Doctor Year 2 | 25.8 | 1,249 | 4.6 | 221 | 3.7 | 178 | 4.0 | 195 | 57.9 | 2,798 | 4.0 | 194 | N/A* | 706 |
| Other doctors | ||||||||||||||
| Hospital Practitioner / Clinical Assistant | 18.5 | 281 | 1.6 | 24 | 0.7 | 10 | 1.5 | 23 | 75.8 | 1,153 | 2.0 | 30 | N/A* | 253 |
| Other and Local HCHS Doctor Grades | 24.4 | 308 | 2.5 | 32 | 1.6 | 20 | 3.0 | 38 | 66.5 | 840 | 2.0 | 25 | N/A* | 177 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and grade (medical staff)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and grade (medical staff)’ (CSV)
Summary of NHS workforce By ethnicity and grade (medical staff) Summary
This data shows that:
- senior doctors were more likely to be White or Asian (at 57.0% and 31.0%) than were junior doctors (at 53.0% and 28.7%)
- a higher percentage of junior doctors were from the Black, Chinese, Mixed or Other ethnic groups compared with senior doctors
- White doctors made up a higher percentage of consultants (the highest senior grade), at 60.7%, than they did the other senior grades
- doctors from the Black and Mixed ethnic groups made up a higher percentage of doctors at staff grade (the most junior of the senior grades) than they did the other senior grades
- over three-quarters (75.8%) of hospital practitioner or clinical assistant roles were filled by White employees (the highest percentage of White staff in any specific medical grade)
7. Methodology
Data provided here is based on administrative data collected from NHS trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) for March 2019.
The majority of trusts and CCGs use the Electronic Staff Record (ESR), the NHS’s main human resources and payroll system. Since 2008, the system has contained staff records for over 99% of staff employed directly by the NHS in England.
NHS foundation trusts do not need to use the ESR. One trust does not, and instead sends their data every 3 months to NHS Digital through the workforce Minimum Data Set collection.
NHS staff report their own ethnicity.
Rounding
Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal place.
Quality and methodology information
8. Data sources
Source
NHS Workforce Statistics, March 2019
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
NHS Digital
Publication frequency
Quarterly
Purpose of data source
The data is extracted from NHS human resource and payroll systems. The purpose of collecting ethnicity data through these systems is to monitor equality and diversity across the NHS workforce.
9. Download the data
Measure, time, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, role_type, broad_grade, grade, entry_level, value, headcount