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Mystery of "7000 extra doctors" explained

Caroline White, London

The 7000 "extra" doctors pledged for the NHS, will not be new doctors, it has been revealed. Rather, they will be derived from the current annual 2.3% expansion in the medical workforce, better recruitment and return measures, and a quota from overseas, over the next three years.

The figures, which also included 15000 additional nurses, were announced last month as part of the government's comprehensive spending review, which amounts to £21bn ($34bn) for the NHS spread over three years (25 July, p 231).

In his statement to the House of Commons on 16 July, the health secretary, Frank Dobson, said: "With the extra money we are making available, the NHS will be able to take on more doctors and nurses . . . . With these extra staff, NHS hospitals will treat an extra three million patients." The announcement was widely reported as . . . [Full text of this article]

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