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NHS staff numbers begin to fall as fears rise over effect of efficiency savings

BMJ 2010; 341 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.c4005 (Published 23 July 2010) Cite this as: BMJ 2010;341:c4005
  1. Adrian O’Dowd
  1. 1London

    The number of NHS staff in England has started to fall for the first time in several years, prompting concerns that this may be the start of a trend of a shrinking NHS workforce.

    New figures on hospital and community health services from the NHS Information Centre show that the NHS’s workforce headcount fell by 3351 from March this year to April, from 1 219 500 to 1 216 149 (a 0.3% drop).

    The number in April was, however, 1% higher than in September last year, when it stood at 1 204 590, indicating that the downward trend may have just begun.

    The NHS employed 1151 fewer managers and senior managers in March this year than in April (a …

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