The UK government is preparing to launch the biggest training programme in the history of the country's National Health Service (NHS), as it deals with ongoing strikes by staff and an unprecedented backlog of patients waiting for treatment. The initiative, to be known as the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, will span 15 years, with the aim of providing certainty to the NHS. Chancellor Rishi Sunak, writing in The Sunday Times, said the NHS did not train enough doctors and nurses, leaving the UK relying excessively on recruiting talented people from overseas. He suggested that artificial intelligence could also play a role in addressing the staffing issue.
The UK government has made cutting waiting lists a top priority, as health workers take industrial action over pay. Paramedics and nurses have already staged walkouts, while junior doctors in England are set to strike for five days next month – the longest such action in the history of the NHS. Th British Medical Association is behind the strike.
Sunak said the new initiative would "ensure we train, retain, reform and make the most of our talented and experienced staff." More information is expected to be released by the government later this week.
The proposal comes as the ruling Conservative party continues to trail behind the opposition Labour party in the polls, albeit by a 25% gap, according to the latest YouGov survey.