Facts on NHS staff

What is the total number of vacancies in the NHS for medical and support staff?

This article is part of our Ask Full Fact series on the 2019 general election, answering your questions about the election, from claims the main parties are making to what happens on polling day.

UK has one of the highest levels of foreign-born doctors and nurses in the EU

A Telegraph columnist’s comments exaggerate by claiming the UK is the only EU country with a health service heavily dependent on foreign staff.

Lib Dem claims about EU health workers and the NHS are generally true

It is true that tens of thousands of NHS staff are from other EU countries, and that other EU nursing numbers have noticeably dropped.

Claim about social care spending and nurse numbers needs more context

Just under 97,000 nurses voluntarily resigned from the NHS in England between 2010 and 2018. Overall the number of nurses working in the NHS is higher than in 2010.

GP numbers: up or down?

Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn clashed over the trend in GP numbers at PMQs, but they were talking about different things.

Have 200,000 nurses quit the NHS?

This is the total number of nurses and health visitors who have left the NHS in England in the last eight years, for any reason.

EU staff in the NHS: what has happened since the referendum?

EU nationals make up a similar percentage of the NHS workforce in England now as they did in 2016.

NHS pay deal: why are some staff not getting their promised rises?

Some NHS staff were told they would all get a 3% pay rise from April this year, but many won’t get the full rise until later this financial year.

Are there 100,000 vacancies in the NHS?

There are a limited number of working visas available to non-EEA citizens. This means some international doctors have reportedly been denied them.

Health visitor numbers in England down by a fifth since 2015

The number of NHS England health visitors has fallen by 19% from December 2015 to December 2017.