For the third month running, there are record numbers of NHS doctors and nurses working in England according to the latest statistics published today (Thursday 3 June).
The provisional figures show that as of March 2021, there are a total of 124,078 doctors and 304,542 nurses working in the NHS. Compared to the same time last year, there are over 5,600 more doctors and over 10,800 more nurses working in the NHS. There are also record numbers of hospital and community health staff overall (1,197,747).
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said:
It is hugely encouraging to see the number of doctors and nurses has peaked yet again, with over 124,000 doctors and 304,000 nurses working in our NHS.
Our expanding NHS workforce will help to provide safe care to patients and continue the success of the vaccination programme, as we work to tackle backlogs and build back better.
I’d like to thank all health and social care staff across the country for their tremendous work and commitment this past year.
The government is committed to delivering 50,000 more NHS nurses by the end of this Parliament.
The latest NHS People Plan, published in July 2020, is about making sure we put the right measures in place to support and grow the workforce. It puts NHS 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 and support to keep staff physically safe and healthy.
We recognise the enormous pressure this pandemic has put on all of our staff. To support their wellbeing, we invested £30 million in mental health and occupational health support last year, and a further £37 million this year for mental health hubs, a helpline and a 24/7 text support service.
There has also been a 34% increase in applicants to study nursing this year, and all eligible nursing, midwifery and allied health professional students will benefit from a non-repayable grant from the government, worth at least £5,000 a year.
Today, NHS Digital has published its monthly NHS workforce data for February 2021, with provisional figures for March.
From January 2021, NHS Digital introduced a ‘provisional’ section of the monthly NHS workforce statistics publication containing an early view of the figures one month in advance of those throughout the rest of the release.
Today, NHS Digital also published its quarterly NHS workforce vacancy data for March. The data shows:
- vacancies have fallen by over 12,200 since last year
- there are over 1,400 fewer nursing and midwifery vacancies than last year
- there are over 1,700 fewer doctor vacancies than last year
- the numbers of doctors, nurses and vacancies refer to full-time equivalent (FTE) roles
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