NHS staffing crisis: Plans to halve number of medics being recruited from abroad
The government plans to more than halve the number of NHS staff being recruited from abroad in the next 15 years, according to its long term workforce plan.
On Thursday, a preview of the plan announced the intention to funnel £2.4bn into solving the severe staffing crisis in NHS England.
The full document, which was published this morning, said the service aims to train more NHS staff domestically to “reduce reliance on international recruitment and agency staff”.
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“In 15 years’ time, we expect around 9-10.5% of our workforce to be recruited from overseas, compared to nearly a quarter now,” the NHS plan said.
The report also says:
• Half a million trainees will begin clinical training over the next six years
• The NHS hopes to recruit 300,000 new staff and retain 130,000 extra healthcare workers
• Training places will be expanded across the sector including: GPs (50%), adult nurses (92%), pharmacists (29%), dentists (40%), dental therapy and hygiene professionals (28%), healthcare scientists (13%)
• From autumn, recently retired consultant doctors will be given the option to return to work across England through the NHS Emeritus Doctor Scheme
• Almost a quarter of NHS staff (22%) will be trained via apprenticeship by 2031/32
• New medical degree apprenticeships will train 2,000 doctors by 2031/32
• Staff will be supported to access the new childcare measures announced in the recent budget
• The shortfall in mental health nursing is of “particular concern”, with plans to boost this by 73%
NHS ‘reliant on overseas staff’
The NHS, the report said, is “particularly reliant on international recruitment” to fill workforce gaps. The total proportion of NHS workers with non-UK nationalities – across all professions – has grown to more than 17%.
Since 2017, there has been a 2% increase in UK-trained medical graduates joining the workforce. By comparison, in the same time period, there has been a 121% rise in international medical graduates.
Of the doctors who joined the UK workforce in 2023, 50% were international medical graduates.
And, in 2022/23, about half of new nursing registrants in England were trained overseas.
“This leaves the NHS exposed to high marginal labour costs and risks the sustainability of services in the longer term given the growing global demand for skilled healthcare staff,” the report said.
But achieving the productivity improvements outlined in the plan is depending on ” a sustained increase in capital investment in the ageing NHS estate” and investing in digital infrastructure to allow the NHS to make the most of new technologies.
This includes replacing equipment that has passed its recommended lifespan and expanding “capacity to accommodate the increased demand for healthcare from an ageing population”.
“This would enable staff to function more efficiently, and shorten diagnosis and treatment times in areas such as cancer,” the report said.
New roles will be ‘trained and regulated properly’
Vacancies currently stand at 112,000, and there are fears shortfalls could grow to 360,000 by 2037.
Shorter medical degrees, apprenticeships so staff can “earn while they learn” and more medical school places in the areas of greatest need were among the previous headline announcements.
The Prime Minister has insisted people being brought into new roles in the NHS will be “trained properly and they’ll be regulated properly”.
Rishi Sunak said the General Medical Council (GMC) will bring new roles like physician associates into its remit as regulator.
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As the Conservatives have now been in power for 13 years, critics – including Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting – have been asking why the party hasn’t acted sooner.
He said governments from all parties had “ducked” the workforce challenge for decades but said “overcoming this won’t be quick or easy”.
He added: “It’s only possible because of the difficult decisions we’re taking elsewhere to cut the debt and by prioritising the NHS there will be other things that we can’t afford.
“But the NHS is too important. So we’re making the tough calls, and doing things differently, to protect the long term future of the NHS and this country.”
No mention of pay
And while the plan focuses on retention and training, as waves of strikes continue across the health service, the preview contained no mention of pay other than to say: “Everyone working in the NHS should be recognised and rewarded fairly to help ensure we attract and retain the staff we need to provide the best possible care for patients.”
In response to questions about this, the prime minister said everyone would like to be paid more, but the government’s job is to “make sure that we reward people fairly and well for the work they are doing” but also bring down inflation.
He said he is “really pleased” the NHS staff council, which represents over a million NHS workers, voted to accept the government’s pay offer, adding: “I think they did recognise that it was fair and reasonable and rewarded their members for their hard work.
“”And I’m very grateful to all them for doing that because I know that fundamentally what they care about is working really hard, to deliver excellent healthcare.”
Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said: “This looks like a bold plan to transform the training of new staff in the NHS. But the devil is in the detail as usual. There is a promise of funding for training for three years, but nothing about money for current staff.
“If there is not enough money to pay NHS staff a decent wage now, and transform current wage structures, then all the aspirations for more staffing in the training plan will fail to address the current crisis in the recruitment and retention of staff. That is what is at the heart of the current staff exodus”.
A teenage girl who was killed after getting out of a police car on the M5 in Somerset has been named.
Tamzin Hall, 17 and from Wellington, was hit by a vehicle that was travelling southbound between junction 24 for Bridgwater and junction 25 for Taunton shortly after 11pm on Monday.
She had exited a police vehicle that had stopped on the northbound side of the motorway while transporting her.
A mandatory referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is now carrying out its own investigation into what happened.
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Avon and Somerset Police said: “Our thoughts and sympathies go out to Tamzin’s family for their devastating loss.
“A specially-trained family liaison officer remains in contact with them to keep them updated and to provide support.
“The family have asked for privacy at this difficult time.”
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The police watchdog, the IOPC, has been asked to investigate.
In a statement, director David Ford, said: “This was a truly tragic incident and my thoughts are with Tamzin’s family and friends and everyone affected by the events of that evening.
“We are contacting her family to express our sympathies, explain our role, and set out how our investigation will progress. We will keep them fully updated as our investigation continues.”
Paramedics attended the motorway within minutes of the girl being hit but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The motorway was closed in both directions while investigations took place. It was fully reopened shortly after 11am on Tuesday, Nationals Highways said.
A survivors group advocating for women allegedly assaulted by Mohamed al Fayed has said it is “grateful another abuser has been unmasked”, after allegations his brother Salah also participated in the abuse.
Justice for Harrods Survivors says it has “credible evidence” suggesting the sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated at Harrods and the billionaire’s properties “was not limited to Mr al Fayed himself”.
The group’s statement comes after three women told BBC News they were sexually assaulted by al Fayed’s brother, Salah.
One woman said she was raped by Mohamed al Fayed while working at Harrods.
Helen, who has waived her right to anonymity, said she then took a job working for his brother as an escape. She alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted while working at Salah’s home on Park Lane, London.
Two other women have told the BBC they were taken to Monaco and the South of France, where Salah sexually abused them.
Mohamed al Fayed. Pic: AP
The Justice for Harrod Survivors representatives said: “We are proud to support the survivors of Salah Fayed’s abuse and are committed to achieving justice for them, no matter what it takes.”
The group added it “looks forward to the others on whom we have credible evidence – whether abusers themselves or enablers facilitating that abuse – being exposed in due course”.
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Salah was one of the three Fayed brothers who co-owned Harrods.
The business, which was sold to Qatar Holdings when Mohamed al Fayed retired in 2010, has said it “supports the bravery of these women in coming forward”.
A statement issued by the famous store on Thursday evening continued: “We encourage these survivors to come forward and make their claims to the Harrods scheme, where they can apply for compensation, as well as support from a counselling perspective and through an independent survivor advocate.
“We also hope that they are looking at every appropriate avenue to them in their pursuit of justice, whether that be Harrods, the police or the Fayed family and estate.”
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Bianca Gascoigne speaks about Al Fayed abuse
The Justice for Harrods Survivors group previously said more than 400 people had contacted them regarding accusations about Mohamed al Fayed, who died last year.
One of those alleged to have been abused is Bianca Gascoigne, the daughter of former England player Paul.
Speaking to Sky News in October, Gascoigne said she was groomed and sexually assaulted by al Fayed when she worked at Harrods as a teenager.
UK
Wes Streeting ‘crossed the line’ by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman
Wes Streeting “crossed the line” by opposing assisted dying in public and the argument shouldn’t “come down to resources”, a Labour peer has said.
Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harriet Harman criticised the health secretary for revealing how he is going to vote on the matter when it comes before parliament later this month.
MPs are being given a free vote, meaning they can side with their conscience and not party lines, so the government is supposed to be staying neutral.
But Mr Streeting has made clear he will vote against legalising assisted dying, citing concerns end-of-life care is not good enough for people to make an informed choice, and that some could feel pressured into the decision to save the NHS money.
He has also ordered a review into the potential costs of changing the law, warning it could come at the expense of other NHS services if implemented.
Baroness Harman said Mr Streeting has “crossed the line in two ways”.
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“He should not have said how he was going to vote, because that breaches neutrality and sends a signal,” she said.
“And secondly… he’s said the problem is that it will cost money to bring in an assisted dying measure, and therefore he will have to cut other services.
“But paradoxically, he also said it would be a slippery slope because people will be forced to bring about their own death in order to save the NHS money. Well, it can’t be doing both things.
“It can’t be both costing the NHS money and saving the NHS money.”
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Review into assisted dying costs
Baroness Harman said the argument “should not come down to resources” as it is a “huge moral issue” affecting “only a tiny number of people”.
She added that people should not mistake Mr Streeting for being “a kind of proxy for Keir Starmer”.
“The government is genuinely neutral and all of those backbenchers, they can vote whichever way they want,” she added.
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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously expressed support for assisted dying, but it is not clear how he intends to vote on the issue or if he will make his decision public ahead of time.
The cabinet has varying views on the topic, with the likes of Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood siding with Mr Streeting in her opposition but Energy Secretary Ed Miliband being for it.
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband is said to support the bill. Pic: Reuters
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has concerns. Pic: Reuters
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The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is being championed by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater, who wants to give people with six months left to live the choice to end their lives.
Under her proposals, two independent doctors must confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge must give their approval.
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Labour MP Kim Leadbeater discusses End of Life Bill
The bill will also include punishments of up to 14 years in prison for those who break the law, including coercing someone into ending their own life.
MPs will debate and vote on the legislation on 29 November, in what will be the first Commons vote on assisted dying since 2015, when the proposal was defeated.
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