Almost 3,500 more doctors and nurses working for the NHS in Midlands
Almost 3,500 more doctors and nurses are working for the NHS in the Midlands than last year, official figures have revealed.
NHS data showed a total of 3,467 people joined the health service in the area up to September this year – 2,407 nurses and 1,060 doctors.
Nationally, the number of nurses and doctors are at record levels after an increase of 13,313 and 6,030 staff for the roles respectively.
Health 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."
The NHS workforce statistics, which compare September this year and last year, showed the number of nurses in the NHS increased by 13,313 to a record 299,184, while he number of doctors rose by 6,030 to a record 122,446, with a further 29,740 people being accepted to nursing and midwifery courses across the whole of England.
The figure is up by 6,110 more than last year and represents an increase of more than a quarter. The number of new nursing applicants to English providers between January 15 and June 30 was 68 per cent – or 4,600 – higher than the same period last year.
Recent figures show the highest ever number of GPs entering training, with 3,793 posts accepted – exceeding the target of 3,250, Government chiefs have said.
