In front of delighted delegates, the Labour Party has profiled its response to the perilous workforce crisis in the NHS at its conference in Liverpool.
In speeches by both the Leader, Keir Starmer and the Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves they announced new targets and investment in NHS staff training.
To cheers from delegates Reeves said: “The next Labour government will double the number of district nurses qualifying every year,”
“We will train more than 5,000 new health visitors. We will create an additional 10,000 nursing and midwife placements every year.”
Labour promised to produce a long-term workforce plan for the NHS for the next five, 10 and 15 years and said it would “implement the biggest expansion of medical school places in British history, doubling the number of medical students so our NHS has doctors it needs”.
Reeves revealed that Labour would pay for the policy by reintroducing the 45% tax rate, creating a clear water in policy terms with the Truss government – on both tax, and their commitment to fund workforce expansion.
Full story in The Lowdown, 27 September 2022