NHS reports record number of doctors and nurses

Liaison Workforce

NHS Digital published its monthly NHS workforce data for September 2020, which showed that the number of doctors working in the NHS rose by 6,030 to a record 122,446, whilst the number of nurses in the NHS in England increased by 13,313 on last year to a record 299,184.

Whilst it is likely that this increase is in some part accountable to the doctors and nurses returning to the NHS workforce in response to the coronavirus pandemic, it is also promising to see the overall staffing gaps slowly being decreased across the NHS.

The data also showed that there was a 68% rise between 15 January and 30 June in new nursing applicants to English providers in comparison to the same period in 2019, as well as a 26% increase in acceptances to nursing and midwifery courses in England this year.

In addition, recent figures for this year have shown the highest ever number of GPs entering training with 3,793 posts accepted, exceeding the mandated target of 3,250.

Speaking after the data was published, Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock said:

“This winter will be challenging as we continue to fight this deadly virus, and I’m hugely grateful to all our staff who continue to save lives and provide care to those who need it.

“I’m delighted that record numbers of doctors and nurses are working in our NHS, plus a record pipeline of future talent in nursing, medicine and general practice.

“We are backing our NHS and thanks to their unrelenting dedication, we will not only beat COVID but secure the future of our health service and deliver on our manifesto commitment of 50,000 more nurses.”

Responding to the statistics, Liaison Workforce Managing Director, Judith Shaw, said:

“This data is a wonderful Christmas gift to the NHS, and a step in the right direction for increasing the workforces needed to support existing staff and resource NHS organisations.

We hope to see continued rises in the number of trained medical professionals working across the NHS, as well as those entering the profession, and will continue to provide the tools and intelligence needed to support their working lives.”

To find out more about Liaison Workforce’s solutions for optimising the NHS workforce, visit https://liaisongroup.com/liaison-workforce/