Responding to the National Audit Office's report, NHS England's modelling for the Long Term Workforce Plan, Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive at NHS Providers said: 

"Trust leaders want – and need – the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan to be a success. It is therefore deeply concerning that 'significant weaknesses' in its modelling have been identified. Realising the plan in full will also depend on additional funding.

"The report recognises the challenging productivity ask of trust leaders and their teams, who are already are doing everything they can to boost productivity. Overstretched staff are working flat out to treat patients with increasingly complex conditions within existing resources and in the face of relentless demand.

"We need to see more capital investment in NHS infrastructure to support productivity efforts.

"More widely, trust leaders know that for the NHS long-term workforce plan to succeed – and help ensure the sustainability of the health service – there must be more support for social care. Social care needs a fully funded long-term workforce plan, too."