Responding to the BMA’s report on medical staffing in England,
the chief executive of NHS Providers, said:
“This report rightly highlights worrying workforce shortages and
attrition rates for doctors, and the gap between staff supply and
service demand which we are seeing across all areas of the
workforce.
“All health staff are under unsustainable demands because of
this. For too long, they have been asked to provide discretionary
additional efforts in the delivery of patient care.
“This is why we have been calling for a fully costed and funded
multi-year workforce plan, to recruit and retain more staff.
“We welcomed the new duty on the secretary of state to set out
workforce planning responsibilities. We also believe the Health
and Care Bill will be an opportunity to ensure the development of
regular, public and long-term workforce projections, with regular
input from all relevant NHS arm’s length bodies, the frontline
and expert bodies.
“The plan must take into consideration that existing staff are
moving away from traditional career paths and working patterns,
and it is vital that more flexible ways of working are enabled.
“It is also vital that staff are able to raise concerns at work,
which is why trusts have extensive whistleblowing processes in
place, including freedom to speak up guardians.
“Trust leaders are working hard to create the right cultures to
facilitate supportive working environments, and they are clear
that it is unacceptable for any member of staff to feel
threatened to speak up.”
