NHS ‘cannot continue to ask doctors to perform the impossible’ amid staff shortages
Royal College of Physicians calls for action on NHS staff shortages
- The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has called for urgent action to tackle NHS staff shortages, stating that doctors cannot be expected to perform the impossible.
- A recent RCP poll found that 59 per cent of consultants reported vacancies at their grade, with 83 per cent concerned that rota gaps are negatively impacting patient care.
- The survey indicated that common consequences of consultant-level rota gaps include reduced access to out-of-hours inpatient care and longer hospital stays, with 68 per cent of specialists experiencing delayed discharges.
- 59 per cent of those surveyed by the RCP reported caring for patients in temporary spaces such as hospital corridors, offices and cupboards between June and August.
- The RCP is advocating for a new long-term workforce plan, support to retain senior doctors, reforms to training, a national commitment to end corridor care and increased investment in social care.