New training and education measures for NHS staff announced

The government has announced a series of new measures aimed at improving the standard of training, values and education among all NHS staff.

Published in the mandate to the new arms-length body Health Education England and backed with five billion pounds in funding, the plans include initially providing 100,000 staff with foundation-level dementia training by March 2014.

Meanwhile, a new five-year workforce scheme will be introduced to ensure the right levels of staffing and training are present across the health service, with a specific focus on tackling the current shortfall in emergency medical workers.

Efforts will also be made to enhance the general standards of recruitment and training within the NHS, an important objective given the increasingly complex medical and care needs of the ageing population.

Health minister Dr Dan Poulter said: "Plans for the future training and recruitment of our NHS will lead to better working lives for staff and better care for patients."

Health Education England assumed full operational responsibilities in April 2013 and has been established to provide leadership for new education and training systems.