The government is making “unrealistic” promises about recruiting GPs and nurses, a think-tank warns today.

The Health Foundation report condemns NHS workforce planning as “not fit for purpose.” The report highlights declining numbers of GPs and nurses – combined with early indications that recruitment campaigns are showing little success. The researchers highlight a promise to recruit 2,000 GPs from overseas – when just 38 were recruited in the first six months of this year.  A 2% increase in the NHS workforce in the last year came from increased numbers of consultants and managers – but not from GPs and nurses, the researchers say, meanwhile the number of students starting nursing degrees this year have fallen by 1,220, according to the latest figures.

Anita Charlesworth, from the Foundation, said: “There is a growing gap between rhetoric about the government’s ambitions to grow the NHS workforce, and the reality of falling numbers of nurses and GPs.

“This year has been characterised by a series of one-off announcements and initiatives, beset by unrealistic timescales and no overall strategy.”

The NHS Employers organisation said the report showed more needed to be done to improve staff retention.

Chief executive Danny Mortimer said: “Any indication that the NHS is becoming a less attractive place to work is a cause for concern. It’s clear from this important report there is more work to be done in strengthening staff retention and reducing turnover to guard against future instability and protect services to our patients.

“While national support is important, particularly in relation to funding the training of existing staff, employers in the NHS are also taking action in their own organisations to reduce rates of staff leaving the NHS.

“To support this, NHS Employers recently published a guide to staff retention, sharing existing best practice to help all trusts to take rapid action.”

Janet Davies, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “It is shocking to learn that some parts of the NHS are losing almost a third of their entire staff every year.

“We know that low levels of pay and inadequate staffing are exacerbating already poor morale among nurses – the huge sums being spent on perpetual recruitment at these Trusts is money that should be spent on patient care”.