Minister announces record investment in future workforce

Date published: 14 May 2025

The announcement forms a key part of the Department of Health’s ambitious three-year plan to stabilise, reform, and deliver a more sustainable and effective healthcare for everyone.

This year, the Department will commission 505 Allied Health Professional (AHPs) pre-registration training places — the highest ever — alongside 1065 Nursing and Midwifery places and 330 Social Work places. This expansion is part of an annual £160 million investment in workforce commissioning across all professions.

Minister Nesbitt said, “Our health and social care workforce are our greatest asset. Without their skill and dedication, there is no service. This plan is about stabilising the foundations of our system by investing in the people who will deliver care now and into the future.”

“Despite the very real financial pressures we face, I have made it a priority to fund the expansion of our training pipeline over 2025/26 building upon the foundation of the sustained levels of investment over recent years  which has delivered growth in the overall Health and Social Care Workforce of over 7000 whole time equivalents in the last 5 years – a 11.2% increase over the period. This will not only help us meet rising demand but support the transformation of services particularly in primary and community care where AHPs play a vital and growing role.”

A record 505 AHP pre-registration training places will be commissioned in 2025/26. The breakdown ( *see further breakdown in notes to editors) is:

• Physiotherapy – 110
• Radiotherapy and Oncology – 25
• Diagnostic Radiography – 94
• Occupational Therapy – 93
• Paramedics – 65
• Speech and Language Therapy – 56
• Dietetics – 35
• Podiatry – 27

These roles are critical to delivering care across hospital, community, and home settings and will help free up more experienced staff to take on advanced practice and leadership roles.

The three-year strategy focuses on three pillars: Stabilisation – taking urgent action to address immediate workforce pressures, including pay, recruitment, and retention;  Reform - expanding training capacity, redesigning services, and strengthening multi-disciplinary models, especially in primary care; Delivery – ensuring that health and social care services can meet the needs of patients with safe staffing levels, reduced waiting times, and increased access to care.

The key workforce developments include:

• 378 places on the Northern Ireland Medical Foundation Programme ensuring a place is available for all QUB and UU graduates
• 24 new medical specialty training posts through Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA), including 13 in Internal Medicine, 5 in Core Psychiatry, and 6 in other specialties
• A pilot Diagnostic Radiographer Apprenticeship
• Investment to establish a dedicated project team that will support delivery of the HSC Medical and Dental Locum Reduction Project
• Additional one-off cohorts of 100 AHP, 30 Nursing and Midwifery, and 15 Social Work training places
• Appointment of 5 Social Work Recruitment and Retention Co-ordinators across the HSC Trusts

Minister Nesbitt added, “This strategy is about doing the right thing in the right way — investing in people, expanding access to training, and supporting innovation in service delivery. If we are serious about transformation, we must be serious about workforce planning.”

The total cost of the expanded workforce commissioning package is £2.12 million in 2025/26 and £3 million in 2026/27, which the Department has confirmed will be met within existing budget baselines.