Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the number of qualified doctors required in the NHS who are (a) GPs and (b) working in hospitals.

Ben Gummer

The Department has set up Health Education England to plan the future healthcare workforce for England. It is responsible for ensuring a secure workforce supply that reflects the needs of local service users, providers and commissioners of healthcare.

The number of doctors required is a matter for service commissioners and their provider partners to establish in providing a high quality service to patients and in taking into account the mechanisms through which those services will be provided. Delivery plans to meet the NHS Five Year Forward View are currently being established in collaboration via the Sustainability and Transformation Plan process. These plans will include early views on the shape of the future workforce.