Responding to figures from NHS Digital that there are now 132,139 full time equivalent vacancies across the NHS, the interim chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery said:

"Today's vacancy figures are staggering and further proof that the NHS simply doesn't have enough staff to deliver everything being asked of it.

"With nearly one in 10 posts in trusts in England now vacant and tens of thousands more right across the health and care system, many staff face unsustainable workloads and 'burnout' as they strive to bring down waiting lists and treat patients as quickly as possible in the face of ever-growing demand.

"The government's failure to fully fund this year's below inflation pay awards, alongside ongoing concerns over punitive pension taxation for senior staff, will make it even harder to recruit and keep the health workers we so desperately need, which in turn will hugely impact on patients.

"The situation we are in could have been avoided. Successive governments have failed to adequately train and recruit the workforce the NHS needs. Not investing in training is a false economy and is the underlying cause of many of the problems the health system currently faces.

"A long-term plan for a resilient workforce is vital."