In under a year an extra 6,635 frontline clinical staff have joined the NHS workforce, latest statistics show.

The NHS workforce census 2007 has revealed a continuous upward trend in clinical staff numbers since 1998.

Another 1,262 nurses have joined the NHS, increasing the total to 400,000, which is 20% more than in 1998.

The NHS has also recruited 624 more midwives, and say they are well on their way to recruiting an extra 1,000 by 2009. Read more