The Department of Health and Social Care has said that there are record numbers of NHS doctors and nurses working in England, according to their latest statistics.

With the government planning to deliver 50,000 more NHS nurses by the end of this Parliament, the provisional NHS Digital figures show that, as of January 2021, there are a total of 123,813 doctors and 301,491 nurses working in the NHS.

It means that, compared with the same time last year, there are almost 6,600 more doctors and over 10,900 more nurses working in the NHS.

There has also been a 34 per cent increase in applicants to study nursing this year, with all eligible nursing, midwifery and allied-health professional students benefiting from a non-repayable grant from the government, worth at least £5,000 a year.

Minister for Care Helen Whately said: “I’m thrilled that the numbers of qualified doctors and nurses working in our NHS have reached an all-time high, with over 123,000 doctors and 301,000 nurses working in our NHS.

“I am incredibly grateful for the hard work and commitment of all health and social care staff as we reach a year since the beginning of the first lockdown. Our expanding NHS workforce will help to provide world-class care to patients and continue to deliver life-saving vaccines as we cautiously follow our roadmap back to normality.”