A Cumbrian NHS trust is performing better than the national average in terms of staff recruitment and retention, despite national concerns of a looming staffing crisis.

In March this year, an internal NHS document revealed that it needs much more doctors, nurses, GPs and dentists to avoid a recruitment crisis to could leave it short of 571,000 employees.

A workforce plan made by the NHS said it is operating with 154,000 fewer full-time staff than required in March, a number that could rise to 571,000 by 2036 if trends continue.

Figures have recently been released by the NHS showing how many people were employed by each trust from April 2022 to 2023, and how many people left in that same period.

According to NHS England data, at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC), 658 people left from April 2022 to April 2023, and 1,073 people joined.

From March to April 2023, 69 left and 46 joined. 

Annually, the sector with the biggest difference between joiners and leavers was HCHS doctors (not including junior doctors), with 62 joining and 46 leaving.

Having annually hired more people than have left, a spokesperson from NCIC said the trust is pleased and commented on wider staffing issues in the UK: “We recognise that it is a difficult and challenging time for the NHS. 

“Staffing is stretched so it’s good to see we are bucking the national trend. 

“We’ve invested in our staffing over the last two years successfully filling vacancies to our workforce using a combination of ground-breaking new approaches.

“As well as recruiting over 350 internationally educated nurses over the last two years, a ‘grow your own’ scheme has seen us appointing hundreds of people locally into the trust and supporting them to develop and train while they work. 

“As a result, the nursing vacancy rate at the trust has dropped to 6.4 per cent which is almost half the national average and the lowest it has ever been in North Cumbria.

“We’ve further work to do, particularly in recruiting to our medical workforce which remains a challenge nationally and locally.”