UNITED KINGDOM

Apprenticeship plan aims to plug health staff shortages
Tens of thousands of doctors and nurses are set to be trained via apprenticeships in a major expansion of plans to help fix the NHS workforce crisis, writes Rebecca Thomas for the Independent.Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, urged school-leavers to “earn while they learn” rather than undertake a traditional university degree, as part of a radical new plan set to be unveiled by the government in the coming days. It is understood that around one in 10 doctors and a third of nurses could qualify using this route – a fivefold increase on the 200 medical apprenticeships originally planned under NHS schemes.
But the British Medical Association (BMA) expressed fears that NHS employers would not be able to deliver the high standard of training afforded to medical students at university. And experts raised concerns that the health service would be unable to provide enough experienced doctors and nurses to deliver on-the-job training.
Full report on the Independent site