Ahead of the 75th anniversary of the NHS, the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan has been published.
This Plan sets out an expansion in training, changes to ways of working, and improvements to culture that will increase the NHS permanent workforce over 15 years, this could mean at least an extra
- 60,000 doctors
- 170,000 nurses
- 71,000 allied health professional (AHPs)
There will be an expansion of new roles such as physician associates and nursing associates. There will also be an increase in the number and proportion of apprenticeships, creating opportunities for people to join the NHS from a range of different backgrounds and with a wealth of different experiences.
It aims to increase the use of apprenticeships aiming to provide 22% of all training for clinical staff through apprenticeship routes by 2031/32, up from just 7% today. To support this ambition, the plan aims to reach 16% by 2028/29.
This plan also aims to introduce medical degree apprenticeships, with pilots running in 2024/25, so that by 2031/32, 2,000 medical students will train via this route. To support this ambition the plan aims to grow medical degree apprenticeships to more than 850 by 2028/29.
You can access the summary here.
Access the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan here