Health Minister has announced a significant
package of investment in Northern Ireland's Health and Social
Care (HSC) workforce, with a major focus on expanding student
training places for future Allied Health Professionals (AHPs).
The announcement forms a key part of the Department of Health's
ambitious three-year plan to stabilise, reform, and deliver a
more sustainable and effective healthcare for everyone.
This year, the Department will commission 505 Allied Health
Professional (AHPs) pre-registration training places — the
highest ever — alongside 1,065 Nursing and Midwifery places and
330 Social Work places. This expansion is part of an annual £160
million investment in workforce commissioning across all
professions.
Minister Nesbitt said, “Our health and social care
workforce are our greatest asset. Without their skill and
dedication, there is no service. This plan is about stabilising
the foundations of our system by investing in the people who will
deliver care now and into the future.”
“Despite the very real financial pressures we face, I
have made it a priority to fund the expansion of our training
pipeline over 2025/26 building upon the foundation of the
sustained levels of investment over recent years which has
delivered growth in the overall Health and Social Care Workforce
of over 7,000 whole time equivalents in the last five years – a
11.2% increase over the period. This will not only help us meet
rising demand but support the transformation of services
particularly in primary and community care where AHPs play a
vital and growing role.”
A record 505 AHP pre-registration training places will be
commissioned in 2025/26. The breakdown ( *see further breakdown
in notes to editors) is:
- Physiotherapy – 110
- Radiography (Therapeutic) – 119
- Occupational Therapy – 93
- Paramedics – 65
- Speech and Language Therapy – 56
- Dietetics – 35
- Podiatry – 27
These roles are critical to delivering care across hospital,
community, and home settings and will help free up more
experienced staff to take on advanced practice and leadership
roles.
The three-year strategy focuses on three pillars: Stabilisation –
taking urgent action to address immediate workforce pressures,
including pay, recruitment, and retention; Reform -
expanding training capacity, redesigning services, and
strengthening multi-disciplinary models, especially in primary
care; Delivery – ensuring that health and social care services
can meet the needs of patients with safe staffing levels, reduced
waiting times, and increased access to care.
The key workforce developments include:
- 378 places on the Northern Ireland Medical Foundation
Programme ensuring a place is available for all QUB and UU
graduates
- 24 new medical specialty training posts through Northern
Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA), including 13
in Internal Medicine, 5 in Core Psychiatry, and 6 in other
specialties
- A pilot Diagnostic Radiographer Apprenticeship
- Investment to establish a dedicated project team that will
support delivery of the HSC Medical and Dental Locum Reduction
Project
- Additional one-off cohorts of 100 AHP, 30 Nursing and
Midwifery, and 15 Social Work training places
- Appointment of 5 Social Work Recruitment and Retention
Co-ordinators across the HSC Trusts
Minister Nesbitt added, “This strategy is about doing the
right thing in the right way — investing in people, expanding
access to training, and supporting innovation in service
delivery. If we are serious about transformation, we must be
serious about workforce planning.”
The total cost of the expanded workforce commissioning package is
£2.12 million in 2025/26 and £3 million in 2026/27, which the
Department has confirmed will be met within existing budget
baselines.
Notes to Editors:
- *Breakdown of AHP commissioned numbers:
AHP
COMMISSIONED NUMBERS
2024/25 2025/26
Increase of
Paramedicine
50
65
15
Dietetics
21
35
14
Radiotherapy & Oncology
16
25
9
Diagnostic Radiology
94
94
0
Speech and language
28
56
28
Occupational Therapy
65
93
28
Podiatry
21
27
6
Physiotherapy
110
110
0
Total
405
505
100
- Between Dec '19 and Dec '24, the HSC (Whole Time Equivalent)
Workforce increased from 59549.9 WTE to 66588.6 WTE that's over
7000 whole time equivalents in the last 5 years – a 11.2%
increase over the period
