Written question WQ93119
- Asked by
- Laura Anne JonesConservative
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 7 days
Question
What steps is the Welsh Government taking to curb the shortage of NHS nurses?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Our National Workforce Implementation Plan (NWIP) sets out how we will retain and increase the NHS Wales workforce to meet future demand and deal with a worldwide shortage of healthcare workers, including reducing reliance on agency staff. Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) have led work on the retention of staff by launching a national retention programme.
The Welsh Government continues to invest in training new nurses and healthcare professionals to support our health system in Wales; £283 million was invested in 2023-24 and we have maintained this level for 2024-25.
Alongside maintaining the significant level of funding for healthcare professional education and training, we are continuing to deliver nationally run programmes to support ethical international recruitment.
The number of NHS nurses continues to increase and are now at record levels. The are 2,246 (full time equivalent) more registered nurses working across NHS Wales compared to three years ago.