Over 200,000 staff work in the NHS across London. From hospital porter to neurosurgeon, all roles are vital to giving patients the best possible care.

We are overseeing the education and development of our healthcare workforce, through funding medical and non-medical education and training, ensuring our staff receives the right training and development so they can meet all of the challenges delivering healthcare in London provides. This is all part of us helping to build a sustainable and affordable health service for the capital.

The health labour market is vast, employing over 2 million people in the UK, with around 72% working within the NHS (Skills for Health, 2007) and approximately 200,000 of these working within London SHA. London's labour market poses enduring and unique challenges to the NHS around recruitment and retention.

As of 31 March 2009, there were approximately 200,000 staff directly and indirectly employed by the NHS in an acute, primary or GP setting in London. This represents 15% of the total NHS workforce in England and just under 6% of the total workforce in London. The number of staff working in the capital has increased by 45,000 over the last 10 years, an average annual increase of 2.5%.

Our workforce is spread over very different settings of care. Around three quarters of staff are employed in a hospital setting (i.e. in acute, mental health or one of the five specialist hospitals in London). The rest are mostly employed in primary care settings (including General Practice) and 2% are employed by the London Ambulance Service.

NHS London aims to design and deliver an integrated workforce planning and education commissioning system that ensures education providers are responsive to the needs of NHS service users, providers and commissioners. This involves annual expenditure of more than 1billion, covering training for doctors, dentists, nurses, allied health professionals and healthcare scientists. It includes initial undergraduate education, as well as ongoing training for professional clinical staff working in NHS organisations in London.