Government poised to announce '£1 billion plan' to fill NHS vacancies

No 10 remains tight lipped, but reports suggest the government is poised to unveil a £1 billion plan to fill NHS vacancies, ITV News' Tom Sheldrick explains what we know so far

The government is preparing to announce a £1 billion plan to fill vacancies within the NHS, according to reports.

It would include thousands of extra places in medical school and the provision of around 2,000 more GPs, according to the Sunday Times.

The long-term plan for the NHS workforce in England aims to boost the number of doctors, nurses, GPs, midwives and dentists in the health service.

It comes as the NHS in England faces more than 100,000 staff vacancies, while patients often encounter long waiting lists.

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According to the proposals, which are yet to be signed off, the government is looking at doubling medical school places for doctors to 15,000 by 2028-29.

It also wants to train 24,000 nurses and midwives by the end of the decade, as well as several thousand more GPs and dentists, the Sunday Times reports.

No 10 has remained tight lipped, saying it wont comment on speculation and that the government's workforce plan will be brought forward shortly.

However a government source has told ITV News that no specific numbers for timeframes or recruitment have been decided upon yet.

The Labour Party suggested the Treasury is only willing to fund certain elements of the plan, meaning the government isn't delivering the number of doctors and nurses the NHS truly needs.

Palliative care doctor and writer Rachel Clarke added: "One billion doesn’t come close to addressing the NHS staffing crisis. Sunak knows this. This isn’t substance, it’s spin."