Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve recruitment and retention for operating department practitioners.

Recruitment and retention is matter for National Health Service trusts to manage at a local level.

Currently, all trusts across England have access to a series of retention masterclasses provided by NHS Improvement – the first and second series last year were attended by over 400 trust representatives. NHS Improvement has recently announced a third series of masterclasses for the beginning of October 2018.

NHS Improvement also facilitates the sharing of good practice around the country in collaboration with NHS Employers.