Martin Lewis left looking for Tories' 19,000 missing nurses

Martin Lewis has blasted the Tories' plans for 50,000 more nurses in the NHS, after doing the sums this morning.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock appeared on Good Morning Britain to speak about the plan just before Martin's deal segment.

On his promise of 50,000 extra nurses in the NHS, Mr Hancock said: “More nurses, a very important distinction… 31,000 new nurses. 50,000 more nurses in total.

"Because some nurses do leave the NHS and I want to reduce the amount of nurses that leave the NHS and go elsewhere... By reducing the amount who leave you increase the number who are there by definition.

Matt Hancock appeared on Good Morning Britain to speak about recruiting new nurses (ITV)

“The commitment is to increase the total number of nurses who are currently working in the NHS from 280,000 to 330,000 – that’s a 50,000 increase.”

“The key is on this, I’m really straight forward on what we are promising, we are promising, we are committing to, we have the funding for, we have the long term plan to deliver more nurses in the NHS, 50,000 of them, in the totality of how many nurses there are. That’s the clarity I think people are looking for.”

Matt Hancock appeared on Good Morning Britain to speak about recruiting new nurses (ITV)

He denied he was massaging the figures, saying: “We have not said 50,000 new nurses coming in from outside, we have said there will be 50,000 more nurses than there are today. If you are in a bed on a hospital ward you want to know there are enough nurses.”

Asked if he would get the extra nurses from a ‘magic nurse tree’ he said: “We have a plan to deliver and a commitment to what we are going to deliver because we love the NHS."

But Martin blasted the plans in a lengthy tweet and said he was left "urgently looking for 19,000 lost nurses."

Martin said: "He said 50,000 more nurses than now and emphasised this by stating there are currently 280,000 nurses and there will be 333,000 nurses.

"Something therefore doesn't add up, either those 19,000 have already left the NHS or they are not included in the 280,000 number of current nuses which is bizarre as they are current nurses. So they should be saying 299,000 current NHS nurses.

"Can anyone clear up where those missing nurses are?"