Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the next iteration of the (a) NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and (b) 10-year Health Plan will include targets for increasing medical specialty training places in (i) anaesthetics and (ii) other medical specialties.

We are committed to training the staff we need, including anaesthetists and all other medical specialities, to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. We have launched the 10-Year Health Plan which will set out a bold agenda to reform and repair the National Health Service. Ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision. NHS England has funded 70 additional training posts in anaesthesia in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Further expansion will be determined by the upcoming Spending Review and the planned refresh of the Long Term Workforce Plan. The content of the plan will be confirmed at the earliest opportunity.