West Cornwall MP Derek Thomas says that latest figures showing a significant increase in the number of doctors and nurses working in the NHS in Cornwall are an encouraging sign that Government policies are working.
The latest NHS Workforce Statistics show there are 68 more doctors and 187 more nurses in Cornwall compared to last year - the number of doctors has increased from 732 to 800 – a jump of 9.3% and the number of nurses, including health visitors, has gone up from 2,149 to 2,336 – a rise of 8.7%.
This reflects figures across England which show the number of doctors in the NHS increasing by 9,306 compared to last year, while the number of nurses has risen by 13,840.
West Cornwall MP Derek Thomas said: “This is very welcome news and shows that the Government’s NHS People Plan is paying off in terms of strengthening and improving our NHS services and professionally-qualified clinical staff - doctors, paramedics and support to clinical staff - are now at record levels.
“Last year saw the opening of the Cornwall Health and Social Care Academy, set up to train Cornish people to work in health and social care services, and, with Truro-Penwith College, I was very happy to help organise an NHS+ jobs fair which showcased more than 300 career opportunities in the NHS and in social care.
“It is excellent that we are getting an uplift in the numbers of doctors and nurses working here in Cornwall and I hope to see this reflected in the numbers of people working in social care as well.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “It is fantastic to see we have record numbers of staff working in our NHS, and as set out last month in the NHS People Plan, we must strive to make the NHS the best possible place to work for all.
“This will help us retain more of our hardworking staff and ensure the NHS can continue to protect us, as we protected it throughout the peak of this pandemic.
“With the latest UCAS figures already showing a 14% rise in people accepting places on nursing courses in England, we are well on our way to delivering 50,000 more nurses by the end of this Parliament.”
