Emily McGarvey
Live reporter

We're ending our live coverage of the UK government's new NHS workforce plan, thank you for joining us.

If you'd like to wrap your head around the key details of the new 15-year plan in more depth, you can read more here.

Staff morale and working conditions were also a big concern by critics of the plan - you can read more about staff sickness in the health service in England reaching record levels here.

Despite the plan, pay remains a big concern for NHS staff. Senior doctors in the NHS and radiographers in England have voted in favour of industrial action - read more about that here.

Today's page was edited by myself and our writers were Chas Geiger, Andre Rhoden-Paul, Oliver Slow and Malu Cursino.

Image source, PA Media

The government has published its plan for a massive shake-up in how the NHS recruits and trains staff. Here is a recap of what's been announced:

• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan is the "most ambitious transformation in the way we staff the NHS in its history"
• At a press conference, he explained the 15-year plan, backed by £2.4bn of government investment, was based on three principles: train, retain and reform
• He highlighted the plan will double medical school places to 15,000 by 2031, and also train 24,000 more nurses and midwives a year. This will cut agency spending by £10bn and reduce reliance on international recruitment, he said
• The plan also aims to retain 130,000 more staff in the NHS over the next 15 years, as well as improving conditions
• In terms of reform, he announced expanding nurse and physician associates, as well as apprenticeships
• Labour claimed the Tories should have implemented the plan a decade ago and the Lib Dems said the plan had been delayed due to "Tory chaos"

Image source, Getty Images

Radiographers, who carry out scans on patients, have agreed to strike over pay in some parts of England.

Staff at 43 NHS trusts have enough votes to stage walkouts, ballot results reveal.

The Society of Radiographers says it is likely industrial action will go ahead in July, unless the government can improve their offer of a 5% pay rise this year and a cash payment for 2022.

Some junior doctors and consultants also plan to strike in July in England.

Read more here.

Sian Elliott, public services lead at Trade Union Congress (TUC), broadly welcomes the plans, but says implementation is crucial, in particular the issue of retention.

“The NHS runs on the goodwill of its workforce – but morale is at rock bottom,” she told BBC Radio 4’s World at One, saying that if ministers want to succeed in their plans then they need to rebuild trust and morale among NHS staff.

She says the key issues to tackle are flexibility, working conditions, and pay.

“Unless we fix pay, many people – not because they want to – [will be] forced out of working in the NHS because they simply can’t afford to sustain themselves and their families on those wages,” she says.

One of the biggest changes announced in today's plan is an expansion in training through apprenticeships, for nurses and doctors.

The aim is to bring in non-graduates, allowing them to earn as soon as they start learning and working.

Gemma Peffers set off on a path to a nursing apprenticeship in 2016 when she was 30. She told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme the attractions included an immediate job, a guaranteed income and frontline hands-on experience, as well as support from where she was based.

She said she hasn't felt like a "second class" nurse compared with those who went to university.

Image source, Reuters

Chancellor, and former health secretary, Jeremy Hunt was just speaking to BBC Radio 4's World at One.

Asked whether pay is the elephant in the room, Hunt replies: "I don't think it is the elephant in the room, because we've been talking about pay a lot for the last few months."

Hunt says he understands the pressures people are feeling but the root cause of people's frustration is high inflation.

Hunt says today's plan shows NHS staff that the government is committed to reducing the intensity during shifts by recruiting more.

The chancellor says the government is also committed to using less agency staff, not just because of the high cost but also to ensure there is more continuity in care.

Hunt recalls on steps taken by him during the Autumn budget last year to give more money to social care, and "help and support for social care workforce will go alongside this long term workforce plan for the NHS".

Matthew Taylor, managing director of the NHS Confederation, says the NHS workforce plan has been long awaited, and his organisation has been calling for a plan like this for decades.

"It is an important day and the plan has the level of ambition that we would like to see," he adds.

Taylor echoes what we heard earlier, saying that health demands will grow in the coming years.

"It is extremely welcomed and my members will be delighted to see this," Taylor says, but he adds caution as there are "difficult short term issues" like pay and retention.

Taylor says it's important to keep in mind that we have "112,000 vacancies in the health service" in England and pay is a tangible concern.

The prime minister said the workforce plan is the "most ambitious" in the NHS's history.

He added it will "not only eases the pressures today, but protects this precious national institution for the long term".

Image source, Reuters

The Liberal Democrats have accused the Conservatives of driving the NHS "into the ground for a very long time now".

Deputy leader Daisy Cooper told the BBC the workforce plan had been delayed due to Tory "chaos and infighting".

The MP said: "We could have had this plan a very long time ago had Boris Johnson not been whipping his MPs against it."

Although she is relieved the plan has been published, she explained it needed a fine toothcomb of the details following previous "broken promises".

We’ve just finished hearing from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, alongside two senior members of the NHS, as they discussed plans to overhaul the country’s health system.

Here are the key points from the press conference:

• Sunak said the plan aims to bring 300,000 more staff into the NHS in the coming years and retain 130,000 staff
• He announced three principles to train retain, and reform the NHS, adding that he wants to double GP training places by 2031
• Asked about the issue of pay – which is not addressed in detail in the plan – Sunak said that “everyone would like to get paid more” but that “everyone also recognises the economic context that we’re in”
• Sunak spoke about the opportunities provided by new technologies like AI, such as virtual wards that allow patients to recover at home, and allowing the NHS to provide a better service at a lower cost
• Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, said “this is the biggest workforce expansion” in the NHS’s history, but said recruitment is only part of the answer, and that retention is just as important

• We also heard from Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, who said he “truly believes” it is a landmark day for the NHS ahead of its 75th anniversary

Are there more NHS dentists than there used to be?published at 13:10 British Summer Time 30 June 2023

13:10 BST 30 June 2023

The prime minister said: "There are more dentists in the NHS today -hundreds - than there were previously."

The most recent figures show that there were 539 more dentists , externaltaking NHS work in England in 2021-22 than there were the year before.

But the number of dentists in 2020-21 was down 950 compared with 2019-20.

So despite the rise last year, we are still below the number from two years ago, and it is still below the level from 2017-18.

The press conference is now over. Sunak concluded by saying this is an "incredibly important day for the NHS".

He said it's truly "historic", because for 75 years there's been no long-term workforce plan - now there is.

The PM said it will deliver something "incredibly special for the country", a health care system "completely fit for decades to come".

Stay with us as we bring you political reaction and analysis to today's announcement.

When will I notice a difference?published at 13:03 British Summer Time 30 June 2023

13:03 BST 30 June 2023

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent

This is a vital long-term plan to set the NHS in England up for the challenges in the future.

But what about now?

What if you struggle to get hold of your GP? Can't sign up for an NHS dentist? Are one of the 7.4 million waiting for hospital treatment? Or one of the more than 22,500 people waiting more than two months for a cancer diagnosis or treatment?

Not much is going to change tomorrow.

And here's a warning, on page 39 of the report: "Several professions will, even with targeted interventions, likely see medium term shortfalls".

The next question is about doctors moving to Australia to take advantage of better pay and working conditions.

A reports asks the PM if there should be some form of mandatory training to keep doctors in the NHS for longer.

Sunak says it is not as widespread a practice as people think, and his government are keeping a close eye and if the situation changes they are prepared to take action.

He says around 95% of doctors were still working in the NHS after completing their foundation training.

The next question is around whether patients will see a difference in the NHS within the next 12 months.

Pritchard says “everything we are doing is geared towards making things better for patients”, as well as ensuring staff have “rewarding careers”.

She says she “very much hopes” that patients will see benefits.

Sunak then adds that the NHS is “doing more, treating more people, seeing more people” than it has ever done.

He says people “should be reassured” by the level of investments and innovations.

Powis says the focus of the plans have been access to patient care.

Are waiting lists coming down?published at 12:52 British Summer Time 30 June 2023

12:52 BST 30 June 2023

Sunak said earlier: "We are cutting the waiting lists, with waits of over two years virtually eliminated in England and the number of patients waiting over 18 months reduced by over 90%."

He is right on the number of people waiting for more than two years or 18 months.

However, the overall list of patients awaiting treatment has not been reduced. It rose to a record high of 7.42 million people in April 2023.

The current NHS plan expects the overall waiting list to be falling by March 2024.

A reporter tells Sunak that in the short term, a record 7.4 million people are on waiting lists, junior doctors are going on strike for five days, and consultants are also striking. Is the PM confident he can deliver on his pledge to cut waiting lists by the next election?

Sunak says he is, and progress is being made in spite of the challenges that are faced.

He says experiences of patient care are already improving, including emergency care, ambulance waiting times, and A&E waiting times. More money going into social care has also improved discharge times, so a "real difference" is being made "right now", he adds.

The PM says the government knew backlogs would grow as the NHS recovered from Covid, but the longest waits were already being eliminated.

Patients were increasingly getting a choice about where they get their treatment, so they could select from different providers to cut their waiting times, he adds.

Image source, No 10

A reporter asks the prime minister if more dentists should work in the NHS and if there is anything in the plan that will achieve that.

Sunak responds: "Yes, and yes."

He says he is "aware of the challenges in NHS dentistry" and says the plan aims to increase funding for dental places, as well as a "tie-in" so more dentists perform NHS work after they qualify.

Sunak adds the plan is looking at allied health professionals carrying out more dental work.

The next question to the PM is about pay, morale, patients on waiting lists and upcoming doctors strikes.

Sunak says: "Well everyone would like to get paid more, of course they would be. But I think everyone also recognises the economic context that we're in."

He says bringing down inflation will ultimately help NHS staff and others in the country. Sunak says the NHS staff council voted to accept the government's pay offer, and he is "very grateful to all of them for doing that".

Sunak says NHS staff in Cambridge told him training is valuable to them and it is a way in which they feel supported.

Pritchard recognises the pressures colleagues in the NHS are under, and that's why taking a long term view at the situation is very important.

And Powis says today's plan is about putting in conditions to address both the short and long term.

The prime minister jumps in to say that despite industrial action, the health service is making progress "thanks to an enormous amount of hard work from a lot of people".

Pay is the elephant in the roompublished at 12:30 British Summer Time 30 June 2023

12:30 BST 30 June 2023

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent

We've heard discussions of retaining staff from NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard, but let's remember the current mood in the NHS.

• Nurses have been on strike
• Junior doctors will stage a five-day walk out in July.
• Consultants have now said they will strike, with the action scheduled for next month.

Pay is a major - but not the only - factor in that industrial action.

The workforce plan does not address pay, that's a matter for government, but aims to improve "culture, leadership and wellbeing" with the aim of ensuring "up to 130,000 fewer staff leave the NHS over the next 15 years".