The Government has announced what it is calling a “historic” 15-year-plan to plug staffing shortages in the NHS will see a major expansion in training places for health staff in England,
It will promise £2.4 billion over five years for tens of thousands more staff in what he describes as “one of the most significant commitments I will make as prime minister”
Staffing shortfalls have been an issue since the foundation of the NHS and vacancies now stand at 112,000.
The growing and ageing population, coupled with new treatments and therapies, means that without action, the gap could grow up to 360,000 by 2037.
The NHS plan aims to reduce reliance on expensive agency spend that could cut the bill for taxpayers by around £10 billion between 2030/31 and 2036/37.
The plan promises to double medical school training places to 15,000 by 2031, with more places in areas with the greatest shortages, increase the number of GP training places by 50% to 6,000 by 2031 and almost double the number of adult nurse training places by 2031, with 24,000 more nurse and midwife training places a year by 2031.
Tne Plan could mean the health service has at least an extra 60,000 doctors, 170,000 more nurses and 71,000 more allied health professionals in place by 2036/37.
Over the next five years alone medical places will increase by almost a third, nursing degrees will increase by more than a third and GP training places will jump by a quarter.
To ensure the NHS can draw on the widest pool of talent, more training places will be offered through degree apprenticeships so staff can “earn while they learn” – gaining a full degree while ensuring they meet the high clinical standards required by the relevant professional regulators, including GMC and NMC.
One in six (16%) of all training for clinical staff will be offered through apprenticeships by 2028 – including more than 850 medical students.
The growing number of nursing degrees will be accompanied by a 40% rise in nursing associate training places over five years, with increases in other associate roles which will support and free up other clinical colleagues.
Other measures to boost the NHS workforce include Trainees will be on wards and in practices sooner, with plans to work with the GMC and medical schools to consult on the introduction of four-year medical degrees and medical internships, allowing students to start work six months earlier.
More student nurses will be able to take up jobs as soon as they graduate in May, rather than waiting until September, with more reaching the frontline and treating patients more quickly.
New medical schools could also open up in areas of the country where there is the greatest staffing shortfall, with similar plans for postgraduate medical training places and there are plans to train around 150 additional advanced paramedics annually, including to support the delivery of same day emergency care.
Training places for clinical psychology and child and adolescent psychotherapy, on a path to increasing by more than a quarter to over 1,300 by 2031.
Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive, said:
“This is a truly historic day for the NHS in England – for 75 years, the extraordinary dedication, skill and compassion of NHS staff has been the backbone of the health service – and the publication of our first-ever NHS Long Term Workforce Plan now gives us a once in a generation opportunity to put staffing on sustainable footing for the years to come.
“As we look to adapt to new and rising demand for health services globally, this long term blueprint is the first step in a major and much-needed expansion of our workforce to ensure we have the staff we need to deliver for patients.
“We will take practical and sustained action to retain existing talent, we will recruit and train hundreds of thousands more people and continue to accelerate the adoption of the latest technology to give our amazing workforce the very best tools to provide high-quality care to millions of people across the country each day.
“Crucially, this plan will also ensure there is an NHS career choice that works for everyone now and in the future, so if you are interested in working for the NHS, or have loved ones who might be, please do find out more – it is a decision I have never regretted.
There is criticism of the plans.Labour’s Wes Streeting said “they should have done this a decade ago” while the Royal College of Nursing says the key will be the amount and length of funding and the Unison union says pay review bodies must be fixed.
The Health Foundation said “optimistic assumptions” about improving productivity “will be a pipedream without significant investment.”
It added: “The disappointing lack of detail made available around the announcement makes it impossible to comment on the substance.”
