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Quality and service improvement

Workforce Demand and Capacity: Where Do I Even Start?

Are you being asked to plan your workforce around demand, but not sure where to begin? Fear not, you're in the right place! Join us to demystify workforce demand and capacity planning. Many NHS teams are being asked to do more of this work with limited time, patchy data and real pressure on the ground and when demand and waits keep growing, a workforce that isn't planned around real need can only stretch so far. We'll set out the national direction on planning standards and walk through the core principles of demand and capacity, showing how they connect to practical workforce planning and redesign. We'll tackle common myths too this isn't just a technical exercise for analysts, it's a skill for anyone with a stake in how a service is staffed and run.

Date Thursday, 22 October 2026 13:00 PM - 14:00 PM
Where Details Online Online - MS Teams
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Level Details Suitable for all levels
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What will you learn

  • The national direction on planning standards and where demand and capacity fits in  
  • How workforce demand and capacity planning can help you  
  • What is involved in doing workforce demand and capacity planning  
  • Who should be involved  
  • Tips for a successful journey

Who is this course for

Anyone curious about workforce demand and capacity and what it means for their role. 

Lead facilitators

Julie Combes

Julie is Deputy Director at NHS Elect, leading implementation of workforce and training innovations across healthcare systems. Julie began her NHS career as a paediatric intensive care nurse in 2000. Since 2010 she has been involved in workforce education and training undertaking senior leadership roles that support and advise health and care providers locally, regionally and nationally, more recently working for Health Education England.

She has special interest and expertise in workforce redesign and planning, inter professional education, technology enhanced learning, and human factors and ergonomics. She is an associate member of Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors, working in partnership to integrate human factors science into healthcare. She strives to lead by creating a positive, collaborative culture through the development of a system that supports the workforce to achieve their potential.

Alice Lundsten

Alice is a highly skilled quality improvement leader with over 15 years of healthcare experience. She specialises in system‑level transformation, demand and capacity modelling, and the use of data to drive sustainable service improvement. With a career spanning both the third sector and the NHS, Alice has consistently delivered improvements that enhance patient pathways, strengthen operational effectiveness and build capability across organisations.

Alice has shaped large‑scale improvement initiatives, delivered modelling pilots with Integrated Care Boards, and created communities of practice that strengthen peer‑to‑peer learning and sustainable change. Her leadership is grounded in empathy, clarity and a strong commitment to equality, informed by both her professional roles and her long‑standing work as a trustee for Kiota.

A skilled coach and facilitator, Alice creates supportive, engaging training environments that build confidence, deepen understanding and equip participants to drive meaningful improvement in their own organisations.