The government again this year capped the number of training places for Drs well below what is required to maintain even the current staffing levels. They've done this for a decade now (they lifted the cap for the two "pandemic" years).
Everyone knows this - it is even criticised in the staunchest of Tory media the likes of The Spectator and The Telegraph but of course it costs money as it would require more training hospitals and places.
It is short-term thinking at its absolute worse.
And of course it is another way for the Tories to gain at the expense of Labour - if Labour get in next time they have said they would raise it, but of course that will take several parliamentary lifetimes to make a significant difference.
It's akin to the crowing that they've reached their target of 20,000 new police officers, the 20,000 that was needed (the number needed is in fact higher to maintain the per captia number) because
they had reduced the number of police officers
by 20,000. We know there are many problems in the police force but losing 20,000 trained, experienced officers, many talking early retirement and voluntary redundancies cost a fortune, then we've had to pay even more to recruit and train the new inexperienced officers. I believe the figure quoted is that it has cost something like 18 billion overall to reduce and then recruit 20,000 officers.
Plus, and I find this very worrying given what we know are flawed vetting systems the biggest single number of recruitments was in March of this year i.e. the last month before the Tories wouldn't have met their target. That suggests to me that political pressure was being applied to get the Tories a "win".
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/government-meets-20-000-police-090554048.html
