Miliband announces plans for emergency nursing recruitment drive as part of “NHS Rescue Plan”

Ed Miliband is set to announce Labour’s “NHS Rescue Plan” – starting with an emergency recruitment drive designed to get another 1,000 nurses into training this year. Speaking to student nurses at Manchester Metropolitan University, the Labour leader will say that this 1,000 nurses is the first installment of the 20,000 nurses (and 8.000 doctors) the party would fund thanks to its “time to care” fund.

Labour would – on the first day of a Miliband government – ask universities to reopen admissions for highly-oversubscribed nursing courses (30,000 would-be nurses were turned down because of lack of places in 2014).

Miliband will also use the speech – which comes on day two of the party’s “NHS week” to attack Tory claims of higher NHS spending – which George Osborne famously failed to explain despite being given 18 opportunities to do so.

Here’s the detail on Labour’s “NHS Rescue Plan” which Miliband has committed to implementing during the first 100 days after the election:

1. Legislative proposals for a Tobacco Levy, a Mansion Tax on properties over £2 million and action to tackle tax avoidance in the first Budget, in order to raise new revenue in 2015/16 and to deliver the full £2.5 billion a year from 2016/17.
2. An emergency recruitment round for nurses to get 1,000 more into training this year and further measures to increase numbers of nurses and other  health professionals through incentives for staff to remain in, and return to, practice.
3. Early planning to avoid a winter crisis in hospitals this year with GPs stationed in all A&E departments and more clinically-trained NHS 111 staff.
4. Introducing a Bill repealing the market framework of the Heath & Social Care Act to stop trusts being further destabilised or needlessly wasting resources because of  compulsory competition laws.
5. Getting councils, the NHS and charities working together identifying people at highest risk of hospital admission this winter so they can get the support they need to keep them healthy at home.
6. Tackling the £300 million scandal of vulnerable people being kept in hospital this year because they cannot get the care they need to be discharged.