Record levels of more than £260 million will be invested in training healthcare professionals in Wales in an effort to help the NHS respond to the pandemic and challenges in the future.

The investment for 2022/23, which is a 15 per cent increase from 2021/22, will see the highest ever number of training opportunities in Wales. It will be the eighth consecutive year funding to support health professional education and training in Wales will increase.

The additional training places will increase the capacity of the workforce to help the NHS respond to the challenges facing it in the future. The funding will go towards training places for anaesthetists and oncologists, as well as those working in intensive care, emergency medicine, acute medicine, palliative medicine and psychiatry.

The additional investment includes £18 million for education and training programmes for healthcare professionals in Wales; £5 million extra for medical training places, nearly £8 million to support core GP training numbers and a net increase of nearly £3 million for pharmacy training across Wales.

Health Minister Eluned Morgan said: “This investment, which is the eighth consecutive year we have increased funding for training places, shows our commitment to supporting the workforce capacity of NHS Wales.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has placed a great demand on our NHS and we are incredibly proud of how everyone has stepped up to the plate to care for the people of Wales. We need to keep training and strengthening our workforce, so it is prepared for all future challenges it may face and improve resilience as we bid to recover from the effects of the pandemic.”