More than 8,000 extra training places for nurses, midwives, therapists and healthcare scientists will be funded from a record #3.4 billion investment in the NHS workforce announced today. The 2003 national recruitment campaign to promote careers in the NHS was also launched. Over the next year more than #3.4 billion will be spent on supporting the learning and development of healthcare staff, an increase of more than 12%. >From these funds Health Minister John Hutton announced that by 2005/06 there will be: A 50 per cent increase in the funding that supports training for nurses, allied health professionals and healthcare scientists bringing it to new levels of #1,993m. Around #746 million - a 27 per cent increase - will be spent on supporting the training of undergraduate medical and dental students in the NHS Around #1,371 million - a 22 per cent - increase will be spent supporting doctors and dentists undertaking specialist training. The funding will also cover the development of existing healthcare staff including those who do not currently have professional qualifications. By 2005/06 the NHS will be spending #4.1 billion per annum - an increase of 36% over current levels.This funding will go to the 28 NHS Workforce Development Confederations around the country. Mr Hutton said: "Increasing the numbers of training places is crucial to helping the NHS expand the services it provides to patients. There are already more nurses, doctors and allied health professionals working in the NHS than ever before and more staff in training but we need to build on this success. By 2008 there will be 35,000 extra nurses midwives and health visitors as well as an extra 30,000 therapists and scientists working in the NHS." Over the next three years between 2003 and 2006 the increased funds will pay for an extra 8,212 training places: - 4,820 people will be able to start nursing and midwifery degree and NVQ courses, - 1,169 people wil be able to start training as allied health professionals, such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, radiographers and dietitians, - 2,223 people will be able to embark on courses to train as healthcare scientists including medical physicists, cytogeneticists, child psychotherapists, immunologists, perfusionists and dental technicians. These additional training places are on top of the existing annual intakes of new students. In nursing, this currently amounts to 23,400 people a year, whilst there are about 6,148 training places for the allied health professions, and 3,013 for scientists and technicians. The extra funding will also provide major opportunities for the development of staff who do not hold professional qualifications and for the continuing professional development of qualified staff. The #1million 2003 National Recruitment Campaign was also launched today to promote a wide range of careers in the NHS and to encourage staff who have left the service to return. Under the slogan "Join the team, make a difference", the 2003 recruitment drive is the latest phase of the NHS Careers Campaign which is aimed to draw in new recruits and attract trained staff back into the NHS. The recruitment campaign covers all careers in the NHS, including: nursing and midwifery, the allied health professions, healthcare science, medicine and dentistry. Television commercials, which will be complimented by press adverts, tell the story of a young woman with severe head and facial injuries and the multi- disciplinary NHS team who helped her recover. The first television adverts will be screened on Monday 17th February during: Rise - C4 - 8:30 am Emmerdale - ITV- 19:15pm The Commander - ITV -21:45pm Press adverts will appear in all the English national newspapers, women's press, TV listings, nursing press and ethnic press. The last round of NHS Careers national recruitment advertising ran from February to March 2002, generating over 51,000 responses. Since 1999 when the first advertising campaign was launched, more than 13,140 nurses, midwives and health visitors have returned to work for the NHS and another 1,709 nurses are currently on refresher courses, or preparing to go on them. In the past two years, 716 health care professionals have also returned to the NHS as have 219 healthcare scientists. Mr Hutton said: "More young people and graduates are choosing to work in the NHS, whilst those who left are now choosing to return. But we want to do more. The advertising campaign launched today will help us work towards acheiving that." Dr Sue Hill, Chief Scientific Officer at the Department of Health said: "The future NHS will require faster and more rapid access to more diagnostic services and we need more healthcare scientists, who will play a vital role in every patient's journey." The National recruitment campaign, which will run until the end of March, will underline how a wide range of health professionals, including nurses, therapists, scientists and doctors, play a vital role in providing care to patients. The campaign also supports the local recruitment activities that take place in the NHS throughout the year. If people are thinking about returning to a career in the NHS, or if they think they can work for the NHS, they can call the NHS Careers helpline on 0845 60 60 655, or more information can be obtained from the NHS Careers website: www.www.nhscareers.nhs.uk Notes to Editors Table of provisional 2003/04 allocations for pre-registration training of health care workers. An asterix denotes that boundary changes may have affected the allocation. Workforce Development Confederation 2002/03 allocation #k 2003/04 allocation #k % Change Avon. Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. 27144 30,108 10.92% Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 24743 26,836 8.46% Cheshire and Merseyside 45031 54,800 21.69% County Durham and Tees Valley 17114 19,953 16.59% Cumbria and Lancashire 37799 45,090 19.29% Devon and Cornwall 29414 35,289 19.97% Essex 25023 26,973 7.79% Greater Manchester 45690 56,104 22.79% Hampshire and Isle of Wight 22081 29,840 35.14% Kent, Surrey and Sussex 54366 63,057 15.99% Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland* 10615 25,965 144.61% Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 35728 38,990 9.13% North and East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire 24755 27,476 10.99% North Central London 46141 53,303 15.52% North East London 50660 59,065 16.59% North of England 26809 29,958 11.75% North West London 43145 52,789 22.35% Shropshire and Staffordshire 19684 24,028 22.07% Somerset and Dorset 13606 17,679 29.93% South East London 43907 49,272 12.22% South West London 23952 26,698 11.46% South Yorkshire 24523 27,722 13.04% Thames Valley* 37882 40,493 6.89% Trent* 39542 46,713 18.14% Birmingham and the Black Country 57073 62,489 9.49% West Midlands South 23565 26,559 12.71% West Yorkshire 42931 50,598 17.86% Total #892,923 #1,047,849 17.35% Table showing extra training places in 2003/04 and for the three years up to 2005/06 Forecast Training Commissions 2002/2003 Extra commissions in 2003/2004 Total Additional Commissions for 3 years Nursing Nursing & Midwifery degree/diploma 23400 1320 4820 Allied Health Professions Physiotherapy 2037 196 352 Occupational Therapy 1620 149 238 Radiography (Diagnostic) 938 92 164 Radiography (Therapeutic) 257 61 82 Orthoptics 65 0 2 Speech Therapy 601 49 66 Prosthetics & Orthotists 30 0 0 Dietitians 249 58 78 Chiropody 351 39 57 Not broken down by profession - 82 130 AHPs Total 6148 726 1169 Scientists and Technicians Scientists and Technicians Total 3013 1192 2223 TOTAL - - 8212 1. All press enquiries to Alicia O'Donnell-Smith on 0207 210 5222. 2. There is bank of more than 160 case studies from all over the country. They include nurses, ward managers, midwives, radiographers, audiologists, physiotherapists, speech therapists etc who have returned to work for the NHS. - See below for examples. The contact is Beverley Bailey, who can provide media with national and regional case studies, on 0208 870 4301, mobile 07711 482572 or via email on bev.bailey@uk.com. Jane, Head of Medical Illustration, Edgbaston, has worked in the NHS for 20 years "Medical Illustration involves photography, graphics and video, undertaken in the NHS for case records, research, teaching or publication. My particular background is in photography and I consider it to be the most privileged job in the hospital. On the whole we photograph the best examples, or most unusual, most successful or most interesting of anything seen within the hospital environment. Everyday signs and symptoms, or procedures and treatment, are seen by medical students in their training and so often, our work is to photography 'the out of the ordinary'. Our position also sees us photographing VIPs, new born babies, leaking roofs or damaged basements - we cover everything from the cradle to the grave. I have worked my way up to become Head of Department and have recently taken advantage of new NHS family-friendly policies by going 'Job share'. Paula, Physiotherapist returner, Barnstaple, out for 12 years, back for 1 1/2 years "I have had four children and travelled extensively. I then settled and thought more and more about renewing my career. I approached NDDH and have had huge support from both managers and colleagues. I had a clear and comprehensive RTP packaged, aimed specifically at my learning needs. I love my job, feel very fortunate and look forward to many more years within the NHS". Lisa, nurse, Huddersfield, out for 12 years, back for 9 months "I left the NHS in 1989 to join the police force (after 8 years). Spent 11 years in the force, which I enjoyed. Left the police after being involved in a RTA. I completed 2001 Anatomy and Physiology Diploma and applied in August 2001 for the RTP course. This was well-supported, input well presented and in friendly surroundings. Upon returning to nursing, patients' and relatives' expectations seemed higher than before, technology had improved and, due to reduced hours of doctors, there were more opportunities available to nurses, doing jobs that doctors would have done eg. phlebotomy, cannalation, defibrillation. This all creates a more challenging role for the nurse today" 3. Allied Health Professions - Podiatry - Physiotherapy - Orthoptics - Occupational Therapy - Dietetics - Prosthetics and Orthotics - Arts Therapies - Speech and Language Therapy - Paramedics - Psychology - Psychotherapy - Radiography Health Care Scientists Healthcare Scientists (HCS) are employed in over 40 different disciplines within the health sector and are central to healthcare at all levels they include: Engineering and the Physical Sciences Clinical Engineers Medical Physicists Clinical Technologists Nuclear Medicine Scientists Radiotherapy Scientists Rehabilitation Engineers Medical Illustrators and photographers Renal Dialysis Technologists Equipment Management Scientists Maxillofacial Prothestics Scientists Physiological Sciences Audiological Scientists and Technologists Hearing Therapists Cardiac Physiologists Cardiographers Clinical Perfusionists Critical Care Technologists Gastrointestinal Physiologists Neurophysiologists Respiratory Physiologists Vascular Scientists Vision Scientists Life Sciences Biomedical Scientists Cytology Screeners Medical Laboratory Assistants Phlebotomists Clinical Biochemists Clinical Cytogeneticists Molecular Geneticists Clinical Embryologists Clinical Microbiologists Post-mortem Technologists Quality Assurance Scientists Transfusion Scientists 4. Growth in the Workforce September 1997- March 2002 See separate section for progress against NHS Plan targets Headcount 1997 2002 Increase 1997 - 2002 % increase 1997 - 2002 Qualified Nurses 318,860 358,380 39,520 12% Consultants 21,370 26,350 4,980 23% All GPs 29,389 30,858 1,469 5% NHS Plan GPs 28,046 28,950 904 3% 5. The NHS Plan states that by 2004 (2005 for medical school places) there will be: - 7,500 more consultants - 2,000 more general practitioners (GPs) - 20,000 extra nurses - over 6,500 extra therapists and other health professionals - 5,500 more nurses and midwives being trained each year - 4,450 more therapists and other key professional staff being trained each year - 1,000 more medical school places on top of the 1,100 already announced - 1,000 more specialist registrars - 450 (updated to 550) more GP registrars Delivering the NHS Plan, published in April 2002, includes the latest forecasts for growth in the NHS Workforce. By 2008 we expect the NHS to have net increases over the September 2001 staff census of at least: - 15,000 consultants and GPs - 35,000 nurses midwives and health visitors - 30,000 therapists and scientists 6. Training in the last year 21,770 nurse and midwives began training in 2001 / 02, an increase of 1,750 (8.5% over the previous year. Latest figures suggest a further increase of 1,630 (7%) in the number of nurses entering training in the current financial year. There has been an increase of 1,260 (21%) therapists and other key professionals entering training in the past year. Latest figures suggest a further increase of 1,470 (20%) in the current financial year. Between September 2000 and March 2002 the number of GP Registrars (GPRs) in training increased by 239 (14%). Between September 2000 and September 2001 the number of specialist registrars increased by 4% from 12,730 to 13,220.