13 April 2020

Almost 5,000 former staff are now back on the NHS front line after coming out of retirement to support the coronavirus effort.

The returning doctors, nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals in England are now helping to tackle the ‘unprecedented global health threat’.

The 4,800 will be boosted shortly with another 10,300 returners having completed pre-employment checks and ready for deployment.

The more than 15,000 coming back into service as they are needed in trusts over the next fortnight, will be posted to roles according to their career and skills, including offering clinical advice over the phone to people self-isolating and observing the lockdown.

The huge response follows the NHS plea for recent leavers to come back to help them to care for patients, with the call to come back remaining open to all clinical staff who left the profession during the past three years.

The General Medical Council is helping to widen the search by extending its register, so that those who left the service between four and six years ago can return to play a part too.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council is due to follow suit later this week with similar measures for nurses and midwives who left the profession four or five years ago.

All returning staff that join this ‘NHS army’ have been given a full induction and training to help them hit the ground running.