Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact on patients of the Northeast of England having the slowest average annual clinical radiology workforce growth rate in the last five years of 1 per cent.

As of July 2022, there are 696 full time equivalent doctors working in the clinical radiology specialism in the North East and Yorkshire region. This is an increase of 2.7% compared to July 2021. From 2016 to 2021, there has been an increase of 63% in entries in clinical radiology specialty training places in England, with all places taken in 2021. The Government has funded an additional 1,500 undergraduate medical school places each year for domestic students in England, with the first graduates entering foundation training in August 2022. We have delivered five new medical schools in England, including at the University of Sunderland.

The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. The plan will consider the number of staff and the roles required and will set out the actions and reforms needed to improve workforce supply and retention, including in clinical radiology. In 2022/23 Health Education England is investing an additional £50 million to expand the cancer and diagnostics workforce, including expanding the postgraduate medical training of cancer-related medical professions, such as clinical radiologists. In the North East and Yorkshire region in August 2022, over 37,000 people received care following an urgent general practitioner referral for suspected cancer and over 73% had cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days.

The NHS People Plan aims to improve the retention of all National Health Service staff by prioritising health and wellbeing. In 2022/23, more than £45 million has been invested to support the 40 mental health hubs in England, the Professional Nurse Advocates programme and expanding the NHS Practitioner Health service.