A report by three leading think tanks predicts that in the next five years nurse shortages will double and GP gaps nearly treble, without radical action.

The Nuffield Trust, Health Foundation and King’s Fund says a combination of international recruitment, student grants and innovation is needed.

But the government is insisting plans are in place to recruit more staff.

It is already well documented that the NHS is short of staff.

Current figures suggest there more than 30,000 extra nurses are needed and almost 3,000 GPs.

The think tanks say on current trends this will rise to nearly 70,000 nurses and more than 7,000 GPs within five years.

And after a decade the gap could be 100,000 and more than 11,000 respectively.

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