NHS staff numbers rise by thousands in West Midlands in a year

According to the Department for Health the number of NHS workers at health trusts in the Black Country and Birmingham was 83,278 in February 2021, a 4.3 per cent rise of 3,465 staff.

The figures include 8,870 doctors – up 5.9 per cent, and 22,203 nurses, a rise of 2.8 per cent.

Overall an extra 1,100 doctors and nurses started with the NHS in the region over the 12 month period.

Ministers say record numbers of NHS staff are working in England, after 5,600 extra doctors and 10,800 more nurses were taken on.

Encouraging

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “It is hugely encouraging to see the number of doctors and nurses has peaked yet again, with over 8,800 doctors and 22,000 nurses supporting Express & Star readers alone.

“Our expanding NHS workforce will help to provide safe care to patients and continue the success of the vaccination programme, as we work to tackle backlogs and build back better."

Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, recently called the increased staffing numbers a “Nightingale effect”, referring to the giant temporary hospitals set up during the pandemic in areas including Birmingham.

It came as university admissions service UCAS revealed that the number of applications to study nursing had risen by 34 per cent.

He said: “It is no surprise that given the profession’s high profile over the last year many more people have been inspired to join the NHS’s ranks by the so-called Nightingale effect."

The Government has pledged to deliver 50,000 more NHS nurses by the end of the current Parliament.

Nursing, midwifery and allied-health professional students can now access a non-repayable grant from the Government worth at least £5,000 a year.