Rachel has welcomed Government plans to publish a comprehensive long-term NHS workforce plan.
Announced in his Autumn Statement last week, the Chancellor confirmed that, as well as spending an extra £3.3 billion in each of 2023-24 and 2024-25 to support the NHS, the Government will also be setting out how it plans to continue to grow the health service’s workforce.
It will include independently-verified forecasts for the number of doctors, nurses and other professionals that will be needed in 5, 10 and 15 years’ time, taking full account of improvements in retention and productivity.
NHS workforce statistics show that there are now more doctors, nurses and midwives working for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust than when Rachel was first elected in 2017.
In Rachel’s comprehensive, detailed and realistic reports into how she believes a maternity and children’s service could be returned to the Alexandra Hospital, she focusses on boosting the workforce even further.
Rachel said: “Returning services to the Alex has never been about funding as the Chief Executive of NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire made clear to me.
“It’s local health bosses who have told me that it’s about the workforce, despite there being more doctors, nurses and midwives working for our Acute Trust than when I was first elected.
“I’m calling on our Acute Trust to engage positively with the Government’s long-term NHS workforce plan to ensure we get the services that my constituents want at the Alex.
“This will be a key focus for me in the coming weeks and months as I continue the fight to return services to the Alex.”
