It is reported that there are around
360,000 nurses currently working in the
NHS in England, with the Royal College
of Nursing believing there is already a
shortage of at least 20,000. RCN general
secretary Janet Davies said: “This report
makes sobering reading and it is clear that
without urgent action the UK is heading
for a major nursing shortage. Thanks to
years of short-term thinking, the UK is
completely unprepared to deal with the
challenges posed by an ageing workforce,
increasing demand and now the
uncertainty caused by leaving the EU.”
Ms Davies also warned that the plan to
scrap nurse bursaries and make them
pay for university courses (unlike other
students they do not currently face fees
to study) could make the situation even
worse. But a spokesman for Department
of Health in England pointed out there
were 11,000 more nurses on our wards
than there were in 2010 and training
numbers were increasing. “As the
Health Secretary has already said, EU
workers are a crucial part of our NHS
and the training and retention of homegrown nurses is a top priority for this
government.”
This follows on from a report by the BBC
in May 2016, whereby they reported that
MPs blamed bad planning and costcutting for leaving the NHS in England
short of vital front-line staff. The Public
Accounts Committee said the shortfall in
doctors, nurses and midwives could even
get worse if ministers did not get a “better
grip”. The Independent reported that the
damning report by Government advisors
found that the NHS has a shortage of
nurses because of ministers’ “desire to
save money”.
According to the Independent, the
Migration Advisory Committee (MAC)
said that the Department of Health (DH)
and the NHS failed to create enough
nurse training places and treated migrant
nurses as a “Get Out Of Jail, Free” card.
Recommending, “with considerable
reluctance” that nursing should remain
on the shortage occupation list, making it
easier for hospitals to recruit from abroad,
the MAC said there was “no good reason
why the supply of nurses cannot be
sourced domestically.”
The group also warned there had been
“no coherent attempt” to work out the
staffing needed for a seven-day NHS.
The BBC reports that by 2020, the NHS
budget is expected to have risen by just
over £8bn once inflation has been taken
into account. The cross-party group of
MPs acknowledged this in its report, but
cast doubt on how far that would stretch
given that ministers are trying to increase
the availability of staff and services at
weekends.
The report states that clinical staff, those
who provide care, including doctors,
nurses, midwives and ambulance crews
account for more than 800,000 jobs –
two-thirds of the entire NHS workforce.
It said working out the exact shortfall was
difficult, but said estimates made two
years ago suggested the NHS was short
by about 50,000.
The report was published as it
emerged that emergency surgery at
a Nottinghamshire hospital has been
suspended because of a shortage
of junior doctors . Surgical patients
at Bassetlaw Hospital are now being
transferred to Doncaster Royal Infirmary,
which is almost 20 miles away.
Managers at the hospital said there was
a lack of overnight staff and the problem
was affecting 10 to 14 patients a week.
British Medical Association leader Dr
Mark Porter said this is a “disastrous”
situation and Janet Davies added:
“What we have seen so far is how
short-term decisions and budget cuts
lead to nothing but lowered standards
of care which could so easily have been
avoided.”
But a Department of Health spokesman
said plans were in place to increase the
number of staff in the NHS thanks to
rises in spending “By 2020, we expect
to have 11,420 more doctors working in
the NHS, coupled with 10,000 nursing,
midwife and allied health professional
training places through our reforms.”
Sadly, this report comes at a difficult time
for the NHS, where clinicians are facing
increasing pressure, and patients are
therefore being put at greater risk. Only
time will tell what the future holds for the
NHS, but it is certainly a worrying time
for both patients and staff.
B
y Hannah Baty
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