Cutting the amount of time doctors spend in medical school and ramping up apprenticeships are among other ideas to deal with severe staff shortages
Health leaders, who have previewed the details of the plan but have not yet released the full document, claim the strategy will help meet challenges of a growing and ageing population while addressing recruitment and retention issues currently leading to severe staff shortages.Officials say the plans set out, along with new retention measures, 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.
The workforce plan aims to drive up the numbers of home-grown NHS staff as the international pool of health workers is increasingly being drawn upon by other countries. Officials said the document will also have a ‘renewed focus on retention’ – with more flexible working options and better career development.
Health leaders have also agreed the plan needs to be revised every two years to accommodate changing needs across the service. ‘This is something no other government has done and will be one of the most significant commitments I will make as Prime Minister – acting as the cornerstone for our vision for a better, more modern healthcare system and putting the NHS on a sure footing for the long term.’