As part of a number of initiatives to enhance the healthcare system, more than 300,000 nurses and doctors are anticipated to be engaged by the NHS.
To address the acute workforce shortages in the NHS, other solutions include the potential for reducing the amount of time doctors spend in medical school, increasing the number of in-house NHS employees, and increasing the number of apprenticeship positions.
The first-ever long-term workforce plan for the NHS is being lauded as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to place the service’s personnel on a sustainable foundation for the next 15 years.
It comes as officials warned that, without action, there could be 360,000 vacancies in the health service by 2037.
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.
There are currently 112,000 vacancies across the NHS in England.
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.
Alongside the plan, officials have asked the doctors’ regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC), and medical schools to consult on the introduction of four-year medical degrees, which are five years at present, and medical internships, allowing students to start work six months earlier.
Officials said the new plans include:
Double medical school training places to 15,000 by 2031, with more places in areas with the greatest shortages of doctors
Increase the number of GP training places by 50% to 6,000 by 2031
Almost double the number of adult nurse training places by 2031
Ramp up apprenticeships so students can “earn while they learn” – it is estimated that one in six (16%) of all training for clinical staff, including doctors, nurses and other health professionals, will be offered through degree apprenticeships by 2028, including 850 doctor apprenticeships
A 40% rise in nurse associate training places over five years
New medical schools in parts of the country where there are the greatest staffing shortages.
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.
Meanwhile, the NHS is to crack down on spending from expensive agency staff, with health leaders ordered to cut the bill by £10 billion by 2036/37.
Nurses will also be allowed to start work as soon as they graduate in May, instead of in September as they do currently.
Officials said the document will also have a ‘renewed focus on retention’ – with more flexible working options and better career development.
It is hoped these plans, which are yet to be seen in full, along with reforms to pension schemes, could mean that up to 130,000 staff stay working in NHS settings longer.
The new plan – which was commissioned and accepted by ministers – has been backed by a £2.4 billion investment by the Government to fund additional education and training places over five years on top of existing funding commitments.
Health leaders have also agreed the plan needs to be revised every two years to accommodate changing needs across the service.
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: ‘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.’
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: ‘On the 75th anniversary of our health service, this Government is making the largest single expansion in NHS education and training in its history.
‘This is a plan for investment and a plan for reform.
‘In the coming years we will train twice the number of doctors and an extra 24,000 more nurses a year, helping to cut waiting lists and improve patient care.
‘We will do more to retain our brilliant NHS staff and reform the way the health system works to ensure it is fit for the future.
‘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.’
But Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting claimed the Conservatives were taking ideas from his party.
He said: ‘The Conservatives have finally admitted they have no ideas of their own, so are adopting Labour’s plan to train the doctors and nurses the NHS needs. They should have done this a decade ago – then the NHS would have enough staff today.
‘Instead, the health service is short of 150,000 staff and this announcement will take years to have an impact.’