It says it will provide more than 8,000 extra training places over the next three years for nurses, midwives and other health workers.

New training places by 2006

Nursing and midwifery degree and NVQ courses - 4,820 Allied health professionals (eg physiotherapists, occupational therapists, radiographers, dietitians) - 1,169 Healthcare scientists (eg medical physicists, cytogeneticists, child psychotherapists, immunologists, dental technicians) - 2,223

The government says it is trying to recruit more people and is launching a fresh TV and newspaper advertising campaign on Monday.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has welcomed the announcement but warned that nurses will have to be paid more and have opportunities to develop their careers to ensure they do not leave the profession.

The doctors' union, the BMA, has also backed the plans.

Specialist training

The government is boosting funding for training by more than a third over the next three years, to more than �4bn.

It says this will provide an extra 8,000 training places mainly for nurses and midwives.

There will also be extra funding for medical students and for doctors' specialist training.

Health Minister John Hutton said: "Increasing the numbers of training places is crucial to helping the NHS expand the services it provides to patients.

"There are already more nurses, doctors and allied health professionals working in the NHS than ever before and more staff in training but we need to build on this success.

"By 2008 there will be 35,000 extra nurses midwives and health visitors as well as an extra 30,000 therapists and scientists working in the NHS."

Ageing workforce

An independent study commissioned by the RCN last year found that the problem of staff shortages was likely to worsen as the workforce ages.

It found that only one in eight nurses is under 30, compared to one in four 10 years ago.

The RCN said the recruitment of overseas nurses had become a vital way to boost numbers.

But it warned the UK cannot continue to rely on a ready supply of nurses from other countries as competition from other markets - including the US - intensified.

Dr Liam Fox, Shadow Health Secretary, said: "Rather than throwing money at the problem by offering to provide more training places, the government should be seeking to retain the valuable and capable staff that they already have.

"With morale at such a low, it is little wonder that these professionals are leaving the NHS in droves.

"Fundamental changes to the NHS are necessary to make it a place where health care staff want to work. Only the Conservatives can offer such real and lasting reform."