All professionally qualified clinical staff, doctors,
paramedics and support to clinical staff are now at
record levels.
Responding to today’s NHS workforce statistics, Health
and Social Care Secretary said:
It is fantastic to see we have record numbers of
staff working in our NHS, and as set out last month
in the NHS People Plan, we must strive to make the
NHS the best possible place to work for all. This
will help us retain more of our hardworking staff and
ensure the NHS can continue to protect us, as we
protected it throughout the peak of this pandemic.
With the latest UCAS figures already showing a 14%
rise in people accepting places on nursing courses in
England, we are well on our way to delivering 50,000
more nurses by the end of this Parliament.
We have protected the NHS, and we are investing
record sums into the NHS, hiring more doctors and
nurses so that the NHS is always there for you and
your family.
Following A Level results last week, the latest UCAS
statics revealed a 14% rise in acceptances for nursing
and midwifery courses in England, with many more
expected during clearing.
Last month the NHS People Plan set out how the NHS will
put staff wellbeing at its heart with a new
recruitment, retention and support package. It sets out
practical support for wellbeing, such as:
- safe spaces to rest and recuperate
- wellbeing guardians
- support to keep staff physically safe and healthy
The figures for May include some former healthcare
professionals who bravely volunteered to return to the
frontline during the pandemic. May figures also show
that 592 returners were identified, of which there are
102 doctors and 157 nurses and health visitors. Not all
returners are reflected in the monthly workforce stats
as they could have been employed on fixed term,
honorary or bank contracts, or via NHS Professionals.
Today NHS Digital has published its monthly NHS
workforce data for May 2020
Over the last year (May 2019 to May 2020) the number of
nurses has gone up by 13,840, from 281,781 to 295,620.
Over the last year (May 2019 to 2020) the number of
doctors has gone up by 9,306, from 111,950 to 121,256.
Student nurses do not have full registration with the
NMC, and so are counted as ‘support to clinical staff’.
They are not included in the ‘nurses’ count. Medical
students are on the same standing as Foundation 1
doctors, and so are counted as ‘doctors’ in the
statistics.
NHS Professionals is an organisation in the United
Kingdom that supplies temporary staff to the National
Health Service.
