Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) recruit and (b) train specialist palliative care staff.

We will ensure that the National Health Service has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it, including at the end of life. This summer, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.

The training of health care professionals is the responsibility of the health care independent statutory regulatory bodies such as the General Medical Council (GMC), the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and the Health and Care Professions Council. These have the general function of promoting high standards of education and coordinating all stages of education to ensure that health and care students and newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential for professional practice.

The training curricula for postgraduate specialty training, including for palliative and end of life care, is set by the relevant royal college and has to meet the standards set by the GMC.

As we expand the medical workforce, we will ensure there is growth in foundation placement capacity and specialty training places that meets the demands of the NHS in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure this growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where need is greatest.

To ensure the health and social care workforce, including volunteers, are equipped and well- supported to deliver personalised care to people at the end of life, Health Education England, now part of NHS England, hosts the End of Life Care for All e-learning training programme, which includes nine modules on improving care for people at the end of life.

Additionally, we have committed to develop a 10-year plan to deliver an NHS fit for the future, and a central part of the plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities.