We are facing a dire situation of staffing shortage in the NHS which results in less and poor patient care and safety, especially of the elderly patients. Below is the report by the Health Foundation clearly outlining position of the nursing staff levels at the NHS, which is very frightening. England could be hit by a shortfall of 42,000 nurses by 2020 and almost half of all nurses are worried that stretched staffing levels mean they may not be able to do their jobs properly, according to a new report. The findings are from a report by the Health Foundation which looked at the 2016 NHS staff survey along with nurse staffing levels and NHS pay policy. The 42,000 shortfall amounts to 12 per cent of the workforce. The report - called In Short Supply - also points to falls in NHS staff pay as a worsening problem.
It states: "By 2020, NHS staff will have had a decade of falling real pay and little - if any - scope for reform to allow the pay system to respond to wider labour market changes. The 'national living wage' will also have impacted on pay differentials between staff. Half of nurses admit they are worried staffing levels may prevent them from doing their job properly. Moreover, while pay structures and levels have been 'frozen', other aspects of NHS staff reward packages have been subject to significant reform - most notably pensions and bursaries for training."
Secretary of Health, Jeremy Hunt warns there'll be less money for the NHS if Brexit goes badly There is also a serious lack of coordinated workforce planning, according to the report, and the impact of Brexit on international recruitment may also add to the frustrations. This issue of proper staffing at the NHS has to be addressed with urgency as currently patients are suffering through no fault of theirs.
Baldev Sharma
Rayners Lane, Harrow
