Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support is available to help Buckinghamshire NHS Healthcare Trust to recruit and retain specialist cancer (a) nurses and (b) other professionals.

Recruitment to National Health Service roles is managed locally by NHS trusts and partner employers. However, NHS England is taking a range of actions to support the recruitment and retention of staff.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, by supporting and retaining our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals. To support this ambition, the Government will introduce a new set of standards for modern employment in April 2026. The new standards will reaffirm our commitment to improving retention by tackling the issues that matter to staff.

Over 1,000 Cancer Nurse Specialist (CNS) grants were made available to new and aspiring CNSs. This will benefit trusts across the country, including Buckinghamshire NHS Healthcare Trust. Additionally, NHS England funds the Aspirant Cancer Career Education and Development Framework, which sets out an end-to-end career pathway for nurses and other staff working in cancer to build their competencies to deliver the best possible care.

We will work with the university sector and colleagues across Government to ensure that we train the doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals that we need and maximise the contribution that our great research institutions make to the country.  We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.

Furthermore, we will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the NHS in the future. Over the next three years, we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is greatest need. This will benefit patients across the country, including Buckinghamshire.