Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Training of NHS Staff

Tuesday 17 October 2023 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government has seen a 13 percent increase in midwifery programme place starters since two years ago.
  • Secretary of State met leaders of the NHS Staff Council to address staff retention challenges.
  • Government is ahead of the 2019 manifesto commitment to hire 50,000 more nurses by the end of this Parliament.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Theo Clarke
NHS
Context

Closure of Stafford County Hospital's freestanding midwifery birthing unit due to shortages.

Question

What steps are the Government taking to increase the recruitment of midwives, given the closure of Stafford County Hospital's freestanding midwifery birthing unit due to shortages, and how is the Secretary of State going to ensure that all midwives are trained to deal with birth injuries to reduce risk?

Answer from Steve Barclay

My hon. Friend raises an important point, and I know she has secured a debate in the House this week to further explore these issues. She will be aware that there has been a 13% increase in the number of midwifery programme place starters since two years ago. That is alongside the £165 million added to the maternity budget since 2021 and the key increase in midwifery places in the long-term workforce plan.

Partly answered

Not addressed: how to ensure all midwives are trained to deal with birth injuries

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Q2 Derek Twigg Lab Widnes and Halewood
NHS
Context

The problem of retaining NHS staff, particularly nurses.

Question

It is obviously welcome to train and recruit as many staff as possible, but part of the problem is actually retaining the staff. We are increasingly seeing among the reasons given for leaving, particularly by nurses, their work-life balance. What is the Secretary of State doing to address that?

Answer from Steve Barclay

Just yesterday, I met leaders of the NHS Staff Council, who represent trade unions under Agenda for Change, as part of our ongoing discussions on the agreement we will reach with them, which includes working together on retention and how we address some of the challenges the workforce face.

Partly answered

Not addressed: concrete actions to improve work-life balance

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Q3 Matthew Hancock Con
NHS
Context

Recruitment of additional nurses as per the manifesto commitment, and ensuring sufficient staff for clinical trials.

Question

May I congratulate the Secretary of State on being ahead of track to hire 50,000 more nurses this Parliament, as we committed to in the 2019 manifesto? However, can I push him by asking him where he is up to on ensuring that enough staff are trained to do clinical trials, as set out in the excellent O'Shaughnessy review, and can he give us an update of where implementation of that review is up to?

Answer from Steve Barclay

I very much welcome my right hon. Friend signalling that we are ahead of the manifesto commitment not just in nurses being recruited, but in key additional roles in primary care, where the target was 26,000 and actually 31,000 have now been recruited. He is right about the importance of clinical research. The O'Shaughnessy review speeds that up and reduces the cost. It better leverages the taxpayer pound in investment from the private sector, and standardises contracts across NHS trusts to bring the time down.

Partly answered

Not addressed: specific timeline or measures for implementation of O'Shaughnessy review recommendations

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Q4 Barbara Keeley Lab
NHS
Context

Misdiagnosis case involving physician associate, highlighting concerns about expansion of NHS workforce.

Question

The Secretary of State did not mention the increase planned in the number of physician associates. The Norfolk and Waveney integrated care system has posted: “Got abdominal pain that isn't going away? A Physician Associate based in your GP practice can help…They are highly skilled at diagnosing conditions”. After the tragic case of Emily Chesterton, who was misdiagnosed after seeing a physician associate twice at a GP practice and no GP at any point, when will the lesson be learned that the NHS workforce cannot be safely expanded by this route of associates with only two years' medical training?

Answer from Steve Barclay

All clinical roles need to have the right regulation around them, and we need to ensure that patient safety is to the fore. The hon. Lady gives a very good illustration of how the Labour party talks about reform, but not when it comes to the reform of new roles, having new roles in the NHS and having a ladder of opportunity for people to come into the NHS. Physician associates are people with masters' degrees: these people are highly skilled.

Not addressed: The specific case mentioned by the hon. Lady was not addressed directly, instead shifting focus to Labour party's stance on reforms and opportunities in the NHS.

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