Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the training available to (a) vascular nurses, (b) vascular technicians and (c) non-medics to support the (i) diagnosis and (ii) treatment of venous patients.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, which was published on 30 June 2023, sets a bold ambition to train more staff, retain talent, work differently and reform the way we train the healthcare professionals of the future. The Government is backing the plan with over £2.4 billion over the next five years to fund additional education and training places over five years. This is on top of increases to education and training investment, reaching a record £6.1 billion over the next two years.

The modelling within the Plan sets out the workforce the NHS is projected to need over the next 15 years. Across the NHS, staffing decisions are taken by over 200 NHS trusts, other organisations and other employers that deliver NHS care. Each will take decisions on the mix of staff they employ. Therefore, the Plan does not go into detail on specialties, pathways or areas of care but instead looks at the NHS as a whole, at a high level. We will work with our national partners and integrated care systems to deliver the plan.