NHS desperately needs help NOW

Sunak under fire as 150,000 jobs go unfilled | 15yr plan but 7.4m are already on waiting list

- MARTIN BAGOT

UNIONS blasted Rishi Sunak for failing to address "the existing NHS staffing black hole" as he boasted about the service's first long-term workforce plan.

The NHS Workforce Plan for England, published yesterday, predicts staff numbers will have to rise from 1.4 million to up to 2.3 million by 2037 and proposes new training initiatives for medical staff.

It also puts the current shortfall between demand and supply for NHS staff at 150,000 full-time equivalent posts, a gap largely filled with expensive agency temps.