title: Nurse and midwife numbers rise.
abstract: Nurse and midwife numbers in the NHS have risen by 10,000 in the past year, according to figures released by the Department of Health in December. The net result, says the Department, is a rise of 27,000 since 1997 It also means that 16,000 staff have already been recruited towards the NHS Plan target of 20,000 by 2004.