Every nurse and midwife will get a £1k training boost in Chancellor Sajid Javid’s spending spree
EVERY nurse and midwife in the country will be given £1,000 to spend on additional training in a bid to boost recruitment and morale in the NHS, the Government announced tonight.
Ministers said the £210 million package will make the NHS more flexible by equipping frontline staff with more varied clinical skills and qualifications.
This will enable them to move more easily between different roles in different parts of the NHS - for example moving from hospital to community care.
Nurses are required to undertake at least 35 hours of Continuous Professional Development every three years to remain registered and demonstrate that they practise safety and effectively.
But many nurses and other health professionals working in the NHS are expected to fund at least part of this training process themselves.
But under the Government’s new plans frontline NHS staff will each be given a £1,000 personal training budget to spend over three years to support their personal learning and development - known as their revalidation cycle.
The funding boost is part of Chancellor Sajid Javid’s Spending Round on Wednesday, which will set departments’ budgets for the next financial year.
It is designed to boost morale and retention rates for non-medical staff - especially nurses - amid a growing exodus of frontline staff.
Brexit has also been cited as a reason for a shortage of nurses and midwives, with figures showing almost 5,000 from EU countries have quit the NHS in the past two years.
I want to send a crystal-clear message that once you choose to join the NHS family, we will look after you from day one
Health Secretary Matt Hancock
Ministers said giving staff a £1,000 training budget would also make the job of being a nurse or midwife more attractive to potential recruits as it shows they can “develop rewarding, lifelong careers in the health service”.
Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, said: “I want to send a crystal-clear message that once you choose to join the NHS family, we will look after you from day one and help you develop the knowledge, skills and training you need to do the job you love for life.
“We must start by looking after the nurses, midwives and other dedicated health professionals we have already got, so they choose to stay and pursue a lifelong career within our brilliant NHS.
“Ultimately it’s patients that will benefit from this, with even more motivated and highly trained staff providing the high-quality care they rightly expect.”
The Royal College of Nursing last night welcomed the plans, with chief executive Dame Donna Kinnair saying: “After years of cutbacks this announcement may start to put things right. Nurses will see it as an acknowledgement that the Government sees investment in professional development as important.
“This will help to ensure every individual nurse can access the training they need to increase their skills and knowledge further – though it needs to be extended to all nursing staff, not just those in the Health Service.
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“We now urge the Government to address the current workforce crisis in the NHS by investing £1 billion in nurse higher education to increase our domestic supply of nurses”.
Mr Javid said: “This is a Spending Round to support and celebrate our public services, getting cash to those on the frontline, including delivering on our promises to the NHS.
“Our nurses, midwives and other dedicated NHS professionals care for us when we need it most, so it’s right that we support them to develop rewarding and fulfilling careers, and continue to deliver the highest standards of care for patients.”
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