Recommendation 20

NHSE&I explained that the NHS was carrying 100,000 staff vacancies going into the pandemic.58 It said the workforce had been boosted by around 20,000 students; retired NHS staff; and a further 600,000 volunteers (working across a range of public services, including the NHS) who stepped forward to work on the frontline during the crisis.59 Given the potential reliance on the student workforce in the event of a second wave, we asked about the operational impact of the NHS’s June decision to cut short its student nurse programme, which was providing paid placements. NHSE&I told us that this had always been the intention as final year students who qualified would move into substantial placements at more senior grades while second year students would need to return to the academic part of their courses.60