Please scroll to the bottom of the page to download the census data toolkits.
The three Royal Colleges of Physicians have conducted a census of consultant physicians for many decades. It provides us with rich data that help us understand the make-up and state of the medical workforce.
We want to make sure fellows and members can also make use of the data to understand what is happening in their specialty and region. As well as a short summary report, we produce interactive census data toolkits that you can download.
Currently available are the following:
- 2021 UK consultant data toolkit (including some data to Trust/Board level)
- 2004‒2021 UK consultant trend data toolkit.
Using the census data toolkits
The census data toolkits are interactive and feature a comprehensive user guide that explains how to get the data you want. Census data can help you understand such things as:
- Trends in the workforce 2004-2021
- Number of consultants by specialty, nation, region, sub-region and Trust/Health Board
- Changes in workforce demographics and working patterns over time
- Estimated numbers of consultants who practice in acute medicine, general internal medicine, or who look after hospital inpatients, or contribute to out-of-hours work
- Estimated numbers of consultants who practice less than full-time
- National, regional and sub-regional populations vs numbers of full-time equivalent consultants
- What proportion of UK consultants trained overseas?
- Who are consultants employed by and what additional work do they do?
- What proportion of consultants work remotely? And do they have sufficient equipment and support to do so?
- Have consultants been able to take all their annual leave? How is their wellbeing? Are they at risk of burnout?
- How many consultants are expected to retire over the next decade?
- Who reports consultant vacancies and locum cover? What work areas are affected by those vacancies?
The census data toolkits are grouped into themes that cover areas of the census. They are designed with filters to interrogate the data. They logically progress from headline figures and into greater detail via graphs, and ultimately (in some cases) to tables. Filter criteria include: nation, region, sub-region, Trust/Health Board, sex, age-group, contract, specialty, acute/GIM commitment.
We think the new toolkits are the most user-friendly yet. If you have any comments or suggestions on how we can improve them, please contact MedicalWorkforce.Unit@rcp.ac.uk.
