The NHS and social care face the greatest workforce crisis in
their history, compounded by the absence of a credible government
strategy to tackle the situation, say MPs. In the NHS, persistent
understaffing poses a serious risk to staff and patient safety in
routine and emergency care.
The Workforce: recruitment, training and retention report
outlines the scale of the workforce crisis: new research suggests
the NHS in England is short of 12,000 hospital doctors and more
than 50,000 nurses and midwives; evidence on workforce
projections say an extra 475,000 jobs will be needed in health
and an extra 490,000 jobs in social care by the early part of the
next decade; hospital waiting lists reached a record high of
nearly 6.5 million in April. The report finds the Government to
have shown a marked reluctance to act decisively. The refusal to
do proper workforce planning risked plans to tackle the Covid
backlog - a key target for the NHS.
The number of full-time equivalent GPs fell by more than 700 over
three years to March 2022, despite a pledge to deliver 6,000
more. Appearing before the inquiry, the then Secretary of State
admitted he was not on track to
deliver them. The report describes a situation where NHS pension
arrangements force senior doctors to reduce working hours as a
“national scandal” and calls for swift action to remedy.
Maternity services are flagged as being under serious pressure
with more than 500 midwives leaving in a single year. A year ago
the Committee’s maternity safety inquiry concluded almost 2,000
more midwives were needed and almost 500 more obstetricians. The
Secretary of State failed to give a deadline by when a shortfall
in midwife numbers would be addressed.
Pay is a crucial factor in recruitment and retention in social
care. Government analysis estimated more than 17,000 jobs in care
paid below the minimum wage.
A separate report by the
Committee’s panel of independent experts (Expert Panel) published
today rates the government’s progress overall to meet key
commitments it has made on workforce as “inadequate”.
Health and Social Care Committee Chair Rt Hon said:
“Persistent understaffing in the NHS poses a serious risk to
staff and patient safety, a situation compounded by the absence
of a long term plan by the government to tackle it.
“We now face the greatest workforce crisis in history in the NHS
and in social care with still no idea of the number of additional
doctors, nurses and other professionals we actually need. NHS
professionals know there is no silver bullet to solve this
problem but we should at least be giving them comfort that a plan
is in place. This must be a top priority for the new Prime
Minister.”
