'I can't find NHS psychologist job after 10 years training'

A woman who has spent almost ten years training with the NHS to becoming a clinical psychologist has said she will soon be unemployed as there are "no jobs" for her in the organisation.

Soon-to-be qualified Grace Jackson, of Chorlton, Manchester, said she was being forced to consider moving to the private sector.

The Unite union held a protest outside Number 10 North in Manchester on Friday over the lack of permanent roles for NHS trained mental health workers and a rise in temporary contracts.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said there had been a 15% rise in the number of clinical psychologists employed by the NHS over the past five years.

Jackson said she was unsure what to do next.

"We know the NHS is in dire need of psychology roles being filled," she said.

"We're all being trained and sent kind of through the pipeline and then there aren't those qualified jobs for us at the end."

Jackson said she was being forced to consider working in the private sector.

"I do feel it's important to work in the NHS," she said.

"The private sector doesn't appeal but realistically I have a mortgage to pay and I will need to get work somewhere."

According to the Unite union, Jackson is among 77 of 121 soon-to-be qualified psychologists in the north-west of England who have not secured a job in the NHS, despite their collective training costing the healthcare service more than £20m.

The union said the NHS was currently spending "billions on temporary staffing while turning away the professionals it has just trained".

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said essential workers had been unable to find jobs, at the same time as there being a "severe shortage of clinical psychologists" in the region.

According to Unite, 77 newly qualified clinical psychologists in the North West would face the prospect of unemployment or leaving the NHS for private practice in the next month.

Dr John Mulligan, a clinical psychologist who is a Manchester Unite rep told BBC North West Tonight: "Manchester has a very, very poor offer for patients in terms of community services.

"We need investment, we need staff and sadly they've invested in all these clinical psychologists but they now haven't got the actual jobs to employ them and they're now going to have to go straight into private practice.

"So we've used NHS public money to support the private health care industry."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "While local recruitment decisions remain the responsibility of NHS trusts, this year has seen continued growth in the wider NHS workforce."

As of May 2026, they added, there were "200 more clinical psychologists employed by NHS trusts and integrated care boards in England than the previous year".

The department said this represented a 15% rise over the past five years.

When contacted for comment by the BBC, the NHS pointed to the statement from the Department of Health and Social Care.

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