Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the percentage of (a) doctors and (b) anaesthetists preparing to leave the profession; and what steps he is taking to improve retention.

The Government is committed to tackling the workforce crisis across the National Health Service. This will be achieved through better workforce planning, which will address the recruitment and retention challenges facing the NHS.

NHS England continues to lead on a range of initiatives to boost retention, with a strong focus on improving organisational culture, supporting staff wellbeing, and promoting flexible working opportunities. It is continually reviewing the effectiveness of these, and their impact on the workforce.

No specific estimate of the future numbers of doctors and anaesthetists preparing to leave the profession has been made. The General Medical Council publishes annual information on the total number of doctors leaving their register of licenced professionals. This shows that in 2022, 11,319 doctors left the licenced register, the equivalent to 4% of the register. No information is available for anaesthetists specifically.