NHS to Hire Nurses Before Vacancies Exist
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the scheme would 'make sure there are enough jobs for every newly qualified nurse and midwife in England' and allow NHS trusts to hire newly qualified staff 'based on projected need' rather than current vacancies.
Officials said the package aimed to tackle graduates' concerns about job availability. Health Secretary Wes Streeting called it 'absurd' to train thousands of nurses and midwives each year, only to leave them without work when hospitals are short of staff.
Addressing Workforce Bottlenecks
Record numbers began nursing studies during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with fewer nurses and midwives leaving the profession, some areas now have up to three times as many graduates as vacancies.
'No one who dedicates themselves to a nursing or midwifery career should be left in limbo, when their skills are so urgently needed in the effort to rebuild our NHS,' Streeting said.
Professor Nicola Ranger, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary and chief executive, said the scheme should offer 'hope to students'.
'When the health service urgently needs nursing staff, it was absurd to leave people in limbo,' she said.
Gill Walton, Royal College of Midwives (RCM) chief executive, said student midwives would be relieved to learn they could start their careers without unnecessary barriers.
Professor Greta Westwood, chief executive of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, said the announcement sent a clear message: 'Your skills are valued, your future is supported, and your place in the NHS is secure.'
Calls for Ongoing Support
However, Westwood cautioned that more was needed to retain new recruits 'They must be supported by high-quality, structured preceptorship that supports their development into confident, capable, and compassionate professionals,' she urged.
NHS Providers chief executive Daniel Elkeles also welcomed the move but questioned whether the scheme would be fully funded.
"Trust budgets are already under enormous pressure. There is no spare money. Any further unfunded measures risk eating into frontline services,' he warned.
Details of the package emerged following talks between the government, the RCM, and the RCN.
Additional Measures
Other measures in the Graduate Guarantee include:
An online hub offering application advice and information for graduates.
£8 million to temporarily convert vacant maternity support worker posts into Band 5 midwifery positions.
The DHSC said it hoped the changes would help distribute healthcare professionals across a wide range of sectors.
'The test of this will be if students can find jobs, vacant posts are filled, and patients receive the care they deserve,' said Ranger.
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I had smear-test anxiety long before I got my first invitation letter from my GP asking me to come in for my first cervical screening. And when it arrived, just after my 25th birthday, I still couldn't bring myself to go and talked myself out of it. It wasn't just nerves; my feelings about smear tests — a preventative test to check the health of the cervix — were tangled up in some internalised shame about my body and chastity, all of which made the idea of going for a smear feel emotionally loaded. I'm a single Christian woman who has chosen abstinence, and the thought of someone examining my cervix made me really anxious. The use of the speculum to allow access to the cervix felt exposing and scary for someone not having sex. I felt embarrassed for being so nervous, then ashamed for feeling that way, especially because it's a medical procedure meant to help prevent cancer. There are 2,500 new cases of cervical cancer in England every year, but research says that a quarter of those could be prevented. I'd quietly hoped that by now I'd be in a different stage of life, and a smear test wouldn't feel so intimidating. But the first invitation came and went. Then a second. I am one of many who skipped their first invite. As of December 2023, the NHS revealed only 65.8% of eligible women aged 25 - 49 went for their smear on time, leaving a third of us not attending. When I heard that at-home smear tests were finally being rolled out in England, I felt genuinely hopeful for anyone who has felt anxious, unsure, or faces other barriers to getting a test. Under the government's upcoming 10-Year Health Plan, women and people with a cervix who haven't yet taken up routine screening will be offered the chance to self-sample at home. The government has promised it'll be discreet, simple, and easy to return and said it should benefit people facing cultural hurdles, people with a disability and LGBT+ communities. Looking back, I realise I would have been more likely to do my first smear if I'd had the option to do it at home (although I wondered how we would get all up in there ourselves?!). From speaking to other women, I know I'm not the only one. However, until a safe, self-administered test is made widely available, visiting your GP remains paramount. Though it is ultimately just a health appointment (one I know we're so privileged to have access to), it felt like a personal marker of everything I hadn't yet experienced. Given that we're talking about cancer prevention, my unresolved feelings about being single and my body were so trivial, but they were strong enough to put me off attending my first smear. I wondered if my other Christian friends felt the same, but no one was really saying anything. Had they gotten their smears? How had they found it? It was only after I shared my own anxieties with two close friends that we began to talk openly and realised we were all carrying similar hang-ups. Silence around sex and our bodies is, unfortunately, common in many Christian spaces. For many Christians, waiting until marriage is a faith-based decision, as we believe sex is something God invites us to experience within the context of a covenant. But within the church, that personal conviction can often turn into a strong moral expectation. What starts as a choice can turn into an unspoken standard, and with that standard comes silence; silence around sex, around our bodies, and even around medical procedures that involve them. The shame tied to anything seen as related to sex can spill over, making it harder to talk openly and creating real barriers to making informed, responsible decisions about our health Cervical screening is still one of the most reliable ways for preventing cervical cancer, but worryingly, uptake is disproportionately low among Black women and women from other ethnic minority backgrounds. Black women are at higher risk, with research showing that we're more likely to be diagnosed with and die from cervical cancer than any other ethnic group in the UK. Sadly, nine women a day are diagnosed with cervical cancer in the UK, and two women lose their lives to it every day. ' 'Modesty was very much part of how I was raised. That doesn't mean I'm uncomfortable with my body, but the idea of exposing intimate parts to strangers, even in a medical setting, comes with emotional weight.' Shelley dar, mental health therapist ' A long history of medical mistrust continues to affect some Black and brown women's smear test attendance. For others, cultural and religious myths and misconceptions are fueling their fears about the procedure. Reddit posts among young Christians debate whether smear tests affect virginity, and even a quick TikTok search of 'Pap smear as a Christian" shows a confusing and alarming range of perspectives. Some people claim that God has told them not to attend a screening, or that Christian women shouldn't be attending at all. Setting aside what this shows about purity culture in some Christian spaces, misinformation and fearmongering are clearly at play within certain faith communities, and it could be holding people back from attending their smears. It's really important to stress that a smear test is not a sexual act. 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'That doesn't mean I'm uncomfortable with my body, but the idea of exposing intimate parts to strangers, even in a medical setting, comes with emotional weight.' For many women in South Asian and Muslim communities, dignity and privacy are deeply important. Dar describes being taught to cover and protect her body. 'Being asked to lie back and open up in a brightly lit room to someone you've never met can feel degrading, especially when you're not in control of the tone or pace.' This echoes findings from several other studies specifically looking at Muslim women's cervical screening attendance. In the US, fewer than 60% of Muslim American women were up-to-date with their smear tests, citing modesty, stigma, and a lack of culturally sensitive care as the biggest barriers. Similar issues are also seen here in the UK, where some Muslim women have shared feelings left out of public health campaigns or are unsure how their religious beliefs fit into the mainstream advice around smear tests. 'It would be such a relief,' Dar tells me, reflecting on the idea of at-home tests. 'I'd feel calmer, more in control. I could do it in my own time, in my own space, without the pressure of a clinical setting.' From my own hang-ups and conversations with others, it's clear that the barriers around smear tests aren't just practical. For many, it's also emotional, psychological, shaped by personal history, chronic illness, disability, or difficult past experiences. All of this can make going for a smear feel overwhelming. I decided to go for my smear test after getting my second invite letter. I knew I was at lower risk, but I wanted to go, ultimately to stop being afraid of the procedure and stop being embarrassed. That year, I'd also worked for Young Lives Vs Cancer, a UK cancer charity focusing on children, young people and families affected by cancer, which made me really aware of how life-saving these appointments are. My mentality going in was I'm really lucky to have access to this procedure, it's literally free, and it's a good thing to do. I know this isn't always everyone's experience, but I'm really happy to say I had a positive one. I booked it first thing in the morning, which I'd definitely recommend; there's just less time for nerves to build up throughout the day, and you can get it out of the way early. When I arrived, I told the nurse I was scared — which I recommend doing! My nurse was kind and reassuring, and kept checking in and reminding me she'd stop if it was too painful. My mum kept telling me it wouldn't hurt, I think she lied to encourage me to go. Truthfully, it did hurt a bit, but it was so quick, and once it was over, I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders. Most importantly for me, it's made the idea of going again much less daunting or significant because I now know what to expect. Fear can sometimes hold us back from doing what's best for our bodies. I've learned that taking control of your health sometimes means facing fears head-on. For me, my faith in God was a source of strength in getting through it. I didn't feel alone on the day, and it has given me a sense of responsibility to look after the body I've been given as best as I can.
