A、The number of nurses has dropped to a record low. B、There is a growing shortage of medical personnel. C、There is discriminatio

The British government has called for more men to consider a career in nursing. Figures show the number of male nurses has fallen in the last three years. Now, the number of men working in the nursing sector has reached a seven-year low. Numbers of male nurses increased between 2011 and 2014, and reached a peak of 7,168. This figure has dropped to only 6,924 in 2017. The UK Health Secretary said, “This is clearly a cultural problem, and probably one that exists in many parts of the world. But we can make efforts to change that now. We want to persuade males to think about career options of going into nursing. There is absolutely no reason why men can’t go into this profession.” The Health Secretary said that the government already has plans to attract a more varied workforce into nursing. She stated, “We are leading the way on workforce planning. We will become the first nation in Europe to publish a national health and care workforce plan.”
Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.
1. What problem is Britain facing?
2. What is the cause of the problem according to the UK Health Secretary?