Devon and Cornwall have seen a significant increase in the number of doctors and nurses working in the NHS, new data shows.
The latest NHS Workforce Statistics show there are 68 more doctors and 187 more nurses in Cornwall compared to last year.
And in Devon the number of doctors has risen from 2543 to 2768 (up 8.8%) between May 2019 and May 2020, while nurses now number 6254, as opposed to 5793 in 2019 (up 8%).
This picture is repeated across the country, and professionally-qualified clinical staff, doctors, paramedics and support to clinical staff are now at record levels.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “It is fantastic to see we have record numbers of staff working in our NHS, and as set out last month in the NHS People Plan, we must strive to make the NHS the best possible place to work for all.
“This will help us retain more of our hardworking staff and ensure the NHS can continue to protect us, as we protected it throughout the peak of this pandemic.
“With the latest UCAS figures already showing a 14% rise in people accepting places on nursing courses in England, we are well on our way to delivering 50,000 more nurses by the end of this Parliament.
North Devon MP Selaine Saxby said: “I am delighted to see new people entering our NHS as doctors and nurses.
“We had a number of vacancies before the pandemic and it is vital we attract new people to work for our fantastic NHS to enable our rural health services to continue to be the world-class they are.
“I have been working with our local Jobcentre Plus to ensure they are linked up with vacancies that are still available here in North Devon in health and social care.
“I very much hope that those who unfortunately are now looking for work will consider a career within the NHS with all these other new joiners.”
North Cornwall MP Scott Mann said: “These figures show we are serious about our plan to ensure fairness across the regions.
“I have met with senior NHS management on several occasions and fed their concerns about recruitment and retention directly to the Secretary of State, so I am pleased those conversations have been taken on board and Cornwall has seen a 9% rise in doctors and nurses.”