A ‘historic’ 15-year plan to boost the NHS workforce

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By Nick Triggle, health reporter

6 hours ago

Image source, Getty Images

There will be a major expansion of training places for health staff in England, under a “historic” 15-year plan to fill the shortage of NHS staff.

It includes more university places for medical and nursing students and a greater emphasis on apprenticeships with the first ever scheme for doctors.

A consultation will also be launched on the possibility of shortening five-year medical degrees by one year.

The plan took more than a year to publish than expected.

During that time, the NHS has been hit by strikes – with doctors still at odds.

Payment does not appear in the plan – instead, it focuses on the amount of training places you need to increase.

At the moment half of all new doctors and nurses must be recruited from abroad because the UK supply route is struggling to keep up with demand.

1 in 10 jobs remains unfilled – more than 110,000 vacancies.

Without action, that number could rise to 360,000 by 2037, according to modeling for the plan.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard will officially unveil the plan on Friday.

To help achieve the targets, the government has promised £2.4 billion over the next five years.

Ms Pritchard described it as a “historic” moment for the NHS.

“It gives us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to put employees on a sustainable footing for years to come,” she added.

Mr Sunak described it as “one of the most important commitments” he would make as prime minister.

The goals for 2031 include:

Double the number of medical school places for medical students, to 15,000 per year, 50% increase in general nurse trainee places for junior doctors, 24,000 more places for nurses and midwives per year – almost double the number now

In the next five years, the proportion of NHS staff, including doctors, podiatrists and maternity staff, trained through apprenticeships – which combine paid work with study and no tuition fees – will double to one in six.

And next year, an apprenticeship for doctors will be launched, in a few hundred places.

photo caption,

Gemma Peters

Gemma Peters is one of thousands of people who have already started a nursing apprenticeship – in 2016, aged 30, at the Royal Derby Hospital.

“I left school not knowing what to do,” she says. “I’ve had a lot of different jobs.”

Ms. Peters became qualified as a Nursing Partner – a role that bridges the gap between healthcare assistant and nurse.

Her next step will be to start a two-year training to become a nurse.

‘very important’

Learning on the job has been really helpful, says Peters.

“We’re learning the NHS ethos and getting to know how to care for our patients,” she says.

Earning while learning is also important.

“I have children and a home to run,” says Peters. “Security is really important and it has enabled me to pursue a career in the NHS.”

It is welcomed

There will also be a key drive for retention – including more flexible working options and career development to provide clear pathways to senior roles. Last year, a record more than 40,000 nurses left the NHS.

The plan has been welcomed by many in the health service.

Matthew Taylor, of the NHS Confederation, which represents health trusts, described it as “bold and ambitious”.

He added that the same commitment is now required of the social care workforce.

Others have suggested that the drive to increase training places could be undermined by a lack of front-line placements – half of a student nurse’s degree is spent working in the NHS.

It will also take years before this expansion begins to affect the current shortage – it takes five years to complete a medical degree and three years to earn a nurse’s degree.

bleak reality

Dr Billy Palmer, of the Nuffield Trust think tank, said that while it was good to see the plan published, there had been “years of drift”.

He warned that the “bleak reality” of working in the NHS at present could undermine the push to tackle shortages in the long term.

“There’s a risk that we’re going to get more and more people into training only to burn them out faster than ever before,” Dr. Palmer said.

Shadow Labor health secretary Wes Streeting said: “The government should have done this a decade ago – then the NHS would have enough staff today.”

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