Anaesthetics: Staff

(asked on 3rd November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to fund additional higher anaesthetic training places as part of this year’s Spending Review; and what assessment they have made of (1) the current staffing level of anaesthetists, and (2) the costs of relying on (a) agency, and (b) bank, staff to fill any shortages.


Answered by
Lord Kamall Portrait
Lord Kamall
This question was answered on 17th November 2021

Following the outcome of the Spending Review 2021, spending plans for individual budgets for 2022/2023 to 2024/2025 inclusive, including for training posts for higher anaesthetics and other specialities, will be subject to a detailed financial planning exercise and finalised in due course.

At the end of July 2021 there were 13,012 full time equivalent doctors working in the NHS in the specialism of anaesthetics, an increase of 293 (2.3%) since July 2020. This includes trainees, specialists and doctors on other contracts.

Data on agency and bank usage for anaesthetists is not available, as it is not collected or held by NHS England and NHS Improvement to specialty level.

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