Record number of Nurses and Midwives working in NHS

THERE are more Nurses and Midwives working in the NHS than ever before according to new figures published on:- 25 January 2024. NHS England data for October shows the number of Nurses working in the NHS in England is now at almost 372,411; the highest recorded number ever, meaning there over 20,000 more in the NHS workforce going into this winter compared with last year.

The number of Midwives has grown by more than:- 1,000 from last year to:- 23,396; the largest number of Midwives ever.

The unprecedented growth in the NHS workforce came as the health service opened new routes into the 2 professions and expanded international recruitment and retention initiatives.

Targeted initiatives to support the midwifery workforce to grow included NHS England funding retention programmes in every maternity unit in England and additional in year investment of up to �4 million to accelerate the number of Professional Midwifery and Nurse Advocates.

This increase in the NHS workforce is also reflected in a rise in the number of healthcare support workers, with 8,000 more people working in such roles as of September 2023 compared to same month the year before. The rise followed a dedicated programme of work to grow the healthcare support worker workforce through a national recruitment drive.

The rise followed the publication of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan which will see medical and adult Nursing training places almost double by 2031. While additional recruitment, new retention measures and reform for how the NHS works could mean the NHS has at least an extra 60,000 Doctors, 170,000 more Nurses and 71,000 more allied health professionals in place by 2036/37.

Dame Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England, said:- "Nurses, Midwives, Nursing associates and support workers are a crucial part of our NHS workforce, providing essential treatment and care to patients and communities. It's good to see today's figures which show growth in these roles across the NHS. Of course, we still have some way to go which is why it is vital we continue to build our workforce as set out in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan; through increasing the number of future Nurses and Midwives in training and improving retention. Key to this is improving the experiences of our colleagues who work so hard to provide patients and the public with the very best care. Joining the NHS was the best decision I ever made. If you think Nursing or midwifery could be for you, you can search:- 'NHS Nursing careers' to find out more about the roles available and how to apply."

Health Minister Andrew Stephenson said:- "It's fantastic that there are over 370,000 Nurses and Midwives looking after patients in the NHS; 21,000 more than 2023; and a record 139,000 Doctors. Our brilliant NHS staff are central to our plan to make healthcare faster, simpler and fairer for patients, and through the NHS's Long Term Workforce Plan we will continue to build on this progress and double the number of adult Nurse Training and Medical School places by 2031."

Kate Brintworth, Chief Midwifery Officer for England, said:- "With 1,000 more Midwives in our workforce than a year ago, the results of this data show green shoots of progress and are a welcome boost for our maternity and neonatal services. While this is good news, it is important for us to continue to build on this progress, in line with ambitions in both the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and our 3 year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services."

Professor Mark Radford, Director of Education and Training, NHS England said:- "We are so pleased to see the growth within the Nursing, midwifery and support staff workforce and will build on this as we work to achieve the long term Workforce Plan commitment to train and retain more Nurses and Midwives. Showing people what a Nursing or midwifery career has to offer will be vital to the success of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and the NHS is growing a number of entry routes, such as the Nurse degree apprenticeship, to make sure a career in Nursing is a possibility for as many people as possible."

These FTE (for all Nursing, midwifery, and combined) are the highest recorded in the published stats since beginning in September 2009:-

At November 2023 there are:- 372,411 full time equivalent (FTE) Nurses and Midwives employed across NHS hospital trusts and other core organisations in England. This is an increase of:- 21,817 FTE (6.2%) compared to the same period last year.

At November 2023 there are:- 349,015 full time equivalent (FTE) Nurses employed across NHS hospital trusts and other core organisations in England. This is an increase of:- 20,651 FTE (6.3%) compared to the same time last year.

At November 2023 there are:- 23,396 full time equivalent (FTE) Midwives employed across NHS hospital trusts and other core organisations in England. This is an increase of:- 1,166 FTE (5.2%) compared to the same time last year.

Data for Nurses and Midwives are published a month in advance of healthcare support workers.

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Care England calls on Government to spring into action

DESPITE record investment in the 2022 Autumn Budget, the social care sector is buckling at the knees. Care England's Spring Budget representation outlines a series of pragmatic asks that can be introduced immediately with no additional expense to the taxpayer and sets out long term solutions to address systematic issues facing social care.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, says:- "Our Sector Pulse Check report with Hft put the writing on the wall. It's time for the Government to take note. With Government funding last year not making a difference to the sustainability of 84% of care providers in England, we can't continue with more of the same. The Government has given the sector more money than ever before, but the sector has not been able to benefit as it should have. We need to impose a new reality. The sustainability of the sector is compromised. This may well be the last chance for this Government to demonstrate their commitment to fixing social care."

Recently, the National Audit Office report, Reforming Adult Social Care in England, found significant inadequacies in the Department of Health and Social Care's (DHSC) delivery of reform plans. The DHSC has scaled back its short-term plans for system reform and associated funding to �729 million, compared with the �1.74 billion agreed with HM Treasury in 2021. This is equivalent to a 58% fall in the budget for social care reform and comes in the face of an ageing population with an increasing need for care.

Care England and the national learning disability charity Hft published the 2023 Sector Pulse Check in January which found that the UK Government's:- 'record investment' is simply not reaching providers, with 84% stating that financial initiatives from Government; such as:- the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund and International Recruitment Fund; made no difference to their financial sustainability. The 2023 Sector Pulse Check report can be found here.

A strong social care should be the backbone of a society, and of an economy, and in its current state, social care is set to break under the strain.

In the short term, Care England's Spring Budget submission calls on the Government to zero rate VAT for welfare services, better standardise commissioning practice to reduce complexities and inefficiencies in the system, introduce an annual fee uplift deadline of 31 March to bolster financial fore planning, and streamline funding at a Local Authority level for social care providers.

On a long term basis, Care England encourages the Government to close the:- 'Fair Cost of Care' gap and repeat the exercise at a sector wide level, better ringfence Government funds for adult social care, introduce a Government funded �15 minimum wage for care staff and move towards a long term vision for social care funding settlements.

Professor Martin Green continues:- "Intervention from the Government must be immediate and substantial. Almost half of care providers have had to close a part of their organisation or hand back contracts to their Local Authority as a result of the cost pressures they find themselves operating against. Adult social care is an economic powerhouse. Research has found that for every �1 invested in social care, �1.75 is generated in the wider economy. Our sector is crucial to the financial and physical health of the nation, and unless the Government acts now, we won't have a social care fit for the future."

News reports located on this page = 2.

Record number of Nurses and Midwives working in NHS

Care England calls on Government to spring into action