Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) rheumatology consultants, (b) rheumatology clinical nurse specialists, (c) specialist rheumatology physiotherapists, (d) psychologists, (e) podiatrists, (f) occupational health therapists and (g) specialist rheumatology pharmacists in England; and what steps he is taking to fill vacancies in those occupations.

The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, by staff group, working in England, as of February 2023.

Source: NHS Workforce Statistics

To support the workforce as a whole we have commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan for the NHS workforce for the next 15 years. The Government has committed to publishing the Long-Term Workforce Plan shortly, which will include independently verified forecasts for the number of healthcare professionals required in future years, taking full account of improvements in retention and productivity. The long-term NHS workforce plan will look at the mix and number of staff required and will set out the actions and reforms across the NHS that will be needed to reduce supply gaps and improve retention. This plan will help ensure that we have the right numbers of staff, with the right skills to transform and deliver high quality services fit for the future.

On 10 January 2023, Health Education England (HEE) announced that nearly 900 additional medical specialty training posts will be created for this year, including an additional five rheumatology specialty training posts. Rheumatology is a popular specialty with over 95% of training places being filled.