What is the total number of vacancies in the NHS for medical and support staff?

The best available figures suggest there were around 106,000 full-time equivalent vacancies across the English NHS between July and September 2019. Of those, nearly 44,000 were nurses and over 9,000 were doctors. These statistics aren't precise and need to be treated with some caution. 

As we've said before, a lot of these posts are being filled by temporary staff. There's evidence that these staff cost more, and that vacancies are leading to some delays in treatment.

This article is part of our Ask Full Fact series on the 2019 general election, answering your questions about the election, from claims the main parties are making to what happens on polling day.

You can see all the questions we’ve answered so far and we’ll keep adding to it as we get through them.