Still no clear plan on NHS staffing to meet the needs of the population
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Responding to the latest NHS staff vacancies figures published by NHS Digital Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers (part of the NHS Confederation) said: “These numbers show just how much the situation has worsened in recent months with nearly 100,000 vacancies in the NHS across the country and over 1 in 10 post unfilled in some regions as well as a national shortage of nearly 40,000 nurses. “Many staff are exhausted after many years of taking on extra work and filling gaps because there are simply not enough staff to go round and meet the healthcare needs of our population. “While there are now a record number of people working in the health service and we welcome the government’s focus on nursing numbers and medical school places, there is a significant lead in time for these interventions with some of the funding for them as yet unclear. "There is also still no clear plan which sets the numbers required to meet the needs of the population, and it is disappointing that the government couldn’t support the recent amendment on workforce to the Health and Care Bill tabled by the Rt. Hon Jeremy Hunt in that regard. “With 5.82m people now waiting for elective care alongside very high demand for mental health, emergency and primary care we need the Prime Minister and his team to explain to the public the impact that the gaps in our teams and rotas will unfortunately have on the experience of patients and their families." |
