Time is now to help NHS staff get back on track

Responding to the IPPR report, Recover, Reward, Renew, Danny Mortimer, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said:

"This report is yet another reminder of just how much the COVID-19 crisis has worn down an already beleaguered workforce. Given our levels of vacancies going into the pandemic, we can ill-afford to lose even more vital staff.

"As we said in our own recent NHS Reset report on workforce, given the impact of the pandemic on their people, NHS leaders have made it clear that the health service cannot return to 'normal', without supporting staff to recover. The Government and NHS England have said that they accept the importance of the wellbeing of staff as part of the NHS's recovery, and this needs be reflected in practice in a proportionate response to restoring elective care while also managing rapidly growing demand for mental health services.

"This report rightly reinforces that the time is now to give the NHS all it needs to help staff get back on track. That includes urgent long-term investment from the Chancellor to address long-standing vacancies across all our key professions."