What consideration has the Cabinet Minister given to increasing the number of anaesthetic training posts within the forthcoming long term workforce strategy in light of the Royal College of Anaesthetists State of the Nation Report?
Through Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW), the Welsh Government supports workforce supply through investment in education and training. Since 2020, HEIW has increased the number of anaesthetic training posts in Wales, including additional posts within the Acute Care Common Stem Emergency Medicine training pathway. HEIW continues to explore opportunities to expand anaesthetic training capacity further, taking account of workforce demand, service requirements and training capacity within NHS Wales.
The forthcoming NHS Wales Long-Term Workforce Strategy will set out a clear and sustainable approach to developing the workforce needed to meet future patient demand and support service transformation. A key priority will be strengthening the alignment between workforce planning, education commissioning and future service requirements, so that education and training investment reflects the workforce needed by NHS Wales, including in specialities such as anaesthetics.