The NHS warns of long-term damage as graduates are still unemployed

Earlier this month, Welsh Health Minister Mabon ap Gwynfor held a meeting with health chiefs, universities and professional bodies.

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We are seeking urgent solutions to prevent this from happening again and have called for action from the Assembly to be implemented nationally.”

They said: “We know how sad it is for this year’s nursing, midwifery and paramedic graduates who did not get the jobs they worked so hard for.

“We have called on Health Education and Reform Wales to co-ordinate the provision of national support, including a single access point to ensure graduates are supported and linked to new career opportunities.”

The Royal College of Paramedics says it expects similar recruitment freezes across the UK later this year.

Earlier this year, a survey of newly qualified midwives in all four countries by the Royal College of Midwives found that around a third had not found a permanent role.

Buchan said that although it would be “unfair to call it a national problem at the moment”, current workforce forecasts and data suggest it could be “an issue that requires policy responses across all four UK countries”.

“Demand is not being met, but the money is not to increase the workforce,” he said.

The Department of Health and Social Care has introduced a “Graduate Guarantee” for newly qualified nurses and midwives in England.

The Scottish Government says it is developing an NHS job guarantee for graduates of medicine, dentistry, nursing and other NHS professions in Scotland.