This report shows monthly numbers of NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) staff working in NHS Trusts and other core organisations in England (excluding primary care staff). Data are available as headcount and full-time equivalents and for all months from 30 September 2009 onwards. These data are a summary of the validated data extracted from the NHS HR and Payroll system. Additional statistics on staff in NHS Trusts and other core organisations and information for NHS Support Organisations and Central Bodies are published each: September (showing June statistics) December/January (showing September statistics) March (showing December statistics) June (showing March statistics) Quarterly NHS Staff Earnings, monthly NHS Staff Sickness Absence reports, and data relating to the General Practice workforce and the Independent Healthcare Provider workforce are also available via the Related Links below. Please note: We intend ceasing publication of the GPs in alternative settings data file as of next month (May data) meaning April 2023 will be the last issue of these data. Please contact us if you require access to these data on an ongoing basis. We welcome feedback on the methodology and tables within this publication. Please email us with your comments and suggestions, clearly stating Monthly HCHS Workforce as the subject heading, via enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk or 0300 303 5678.

Annual turnover figures, by NHS Organisation, for NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) staff.

Between March 2022 and 2023, approximately 36.5 thousand of HCHS nurses and health visitors left the NHS workforce, the second-highest number recorded in the provided time interval.

This is the latest compendium publication in the NHS Vacancy Statistics series containing vacancy related data for the NHS which provide different views on recruitment information for the NHS. Data from the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) and Trac Recruitment Management Software (Trac) provide a range of proxy data sources for NHS vacancies. The series also includes management information related to vacancies within the NHS which have been collected by NHS England (NHSE). Due to the complex nature of how NHS vacancy data is defined and collected, all data sources should be treated with a degree of caution. Users should note these data do not indicate how much of the reported substantive gap is filled by temporary staff. NHS England is currently developing guidance for NHS Trusts regarding the recording of Establishment numbers (planned and funded workforce levels), which are used in the calculation of vacancy rates. This is to ensure that these figures are recorded consistently by Trusts and provide a more accurate figure of establishment and therefore vacancy rates. This work may also consider the collection and presentation of data on the temporary staff who are employed by Trusts, to enhance existing vacancy data and information. Following the transition to the new NHS Jobs service in 2022, which resulted in a temporary pause in the data that was previously part of this publication, we have reintroduced data from NHS Jobs into this publication. To help with the development of this publication, feedback can be sent to: enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk with the subject heading ‘NHS Vacancy Statistics publication feedback’.

From 2013 to 2019, the share of revenue expenditure spent by the NHS on permanent and bank staff ranged around 45 percent. from 2020 onwards, the proportion of revenue expenditure consumed by pay bill has increased to over 49 percent in year 2023/24, where the NHS provider staff spend was over 81 billion British pounds.

The opinion of NHS staff across England was rather divided when asked about staff shortages within their organization. In 2024, around 43.5 percent of the NHS staff stated not to have enough staff at their organization for them to do their job properly, versus the 34 percent who though staffing levels were adequate. Overall, this is an improvement on staffing levels perceived by staff themselves compared to the previous three years.

In the financial year 2023/24, the NHS spent 81.7 billion British pounds on permanent and bank staff. Over the years, the amount of spending on the NHS workforce has increased significantly, especially the year 2020/21 where a 12.6 percent increase was observed. However, the NHS's share of revenue expenditure spent on staff has remained relatively stable in the past 10 years.

As of December 2024, the NHS in England employed a total of 1.5 million staff members (headcount: counting each individual staff member), including 157 thousand HCHS doctors. This makes it the largest employer in England. In terms of staff groups, nurses (and health visitors) represented the biggest number, followed by support to doctors, nurses and midwives.

The number of HCHS doctors leaving generally increased during the period reaching 21,000 leavers in the year 2022/23, the highest reported in the period analyzed, and over a seven percent increase from the figure reported a year earlier.

In the financial year 2020/21, total operating income of the NHS amounted to just over 105 billion British pounds. This was an increase from the previous year where operating income stood at roughly 92 billion British pounds. This statistic shows the National Health Service (NHS) total operating income in the United Kingdom in 2019/18 and 2020/21 (in million GBP).

The majority of NHS staff in England worked additional unpaid hours. In 2024, just over half of surveyed staff reported working unpaid overtime, while the other half did not. Among those who worked unpaid overtime, most did up to five hours of extra work, while three percent worked 11 hours or more. Although staff working unpaid overtime is showing signs of decrease, paid overtime has increased slightly.

Due to current resource constraints and organisational changes at NHS Digital, the scope of the last two publications in the series (released at the end of November 2019 and February 2020) were considerably reduced and limited to include: High-level Key Facts for NHS Jobs data The standard CSV file for NHS Jobs data which normally accompanies the publication A truncated Excel file containing NHS England and NHS Improvement management information only During this pause, NHS Digital have been working on making improvements to the publication, primarily focusing on working with TRAC to incorporate their data into the compendium publication; exploring what more can be done with data from ESR; and improving the NHS Jobs data tables. The new enhanced publication was due to go live for the first time in May 2020, but as a result of the coronavirus illness (COVID-19), these improvements are having to be delayed. NHS Digital will therefore continue with the reduced scope publication in May 2020, as per the last two quarters, and look forward to releasing the new enhanced publication later in the year. To help with the development of this publication, feedback is continually welcomed and can be sent to: enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk with the subject heading ‘NHS Vacancy Statistics publication feedback’.

In the financial year 2020/21, the operating income from patient care activities amounted to over 90 billion British pounds, of which income from the mental health services was over 10 billion British pounds. Total operating income that year came to over 105 billion British pounds. This statistic shows the National Health service (NHS) operating income from patient care activities in the United Kingdom as of 2020/21 (in million GBP).

As of December 2024, the nursing and midwifery staff in Scotland had the highest number of FTE (full-time equivalent) vacancies among the medical workforce, with over two thousand positions vacant.

We look at joiners, leavers and non-movers to analyse NHS staff turnover and stability amongst non-medical staff. We can break this down by any combination of staff group, NHS organisation or geographical area. Examples of 2006-2007 turnover work can be accessed above but specific queries can be dealt with individually. If you have an enquiry on this please contact us at enquiries@ic.nhs.uk

Users need to be aware of intended changes to the presentation of these statistics. For further information please read the "revisions and issues section" on page five of this month's bulletin. Provisional monthly figures for headcount, full time equivalent, role count and turnover of NHS Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) staff groups working in England (excluding primary care staff). As expected with provisional statistics, some figures may be revised from month to month as issues are uncovered and resolved. No refreshes of the provisional data will take place either as part of the regular publication process, or where minor enhancements to the methodology have an insignificant impact on the figures at a national level. However, the provisional status allows for this to occur if it is determined that a refresh of data is required subsequent to initial release. Where a refresh of data occurs, it will be clearly documented in the publications. The monthly publication is an accurate summary of the validated data extracted from the NHS's HR and Payroll system. It has a provisional status as the data may change slightly over time where trusts make updates to their live operational systems. Given the size of the NHS workforce and the changing composition, particularly during this period of transition, it is likely that we will see some additional fluctuations in the workforce numbers over the next few months reflecting both national and local changes as a result of the NHS reforms. We welcome feedback on the methodology and tables within this publication. Please email us with your comments and suggestions, clearly stating 'Monthly HCHS Workforce' as the subject heading, via enquiries@hscic.gov.uk or 0845 300 6016

The vcancy rate in Northern Ireland's HSC has fluctuated over the period analized from 5.4 percent recorded at the end of 2017's first quarter, and reaching up to 9.7 percent at the end of 2022. At the end of 2024, the total vacancy rate reached 6.7 percent.

In 2024, medical assistants and support workers along with ambulance staff were the staff groups most often absent in Wales. On the other hand, medical and dental staff were least likely to be absent. A spike in absenteeism was seen in 2021 among nearly all staff groups, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.