Parliamentarians find UK Health facing staffing crisis of historical proportions; 99,000 positions available

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#United Kingdom, August 04, 2022 – The UK National Health Service is facing a historical staffing crisis as thousands of positions remain unfilled according to a report on the NHS conducted by a group of Parliamentarians.

The group of MPs tabled the report this week and it says, “The extent of the NHS understaffing is a “serious risk to patient safety.”

The report says the NHS had more than 99,000 vacant posts and England alone is missing more than 70,000 medical professionals, 12,000 doctors and 50,000 nurses and midwives. Additionally more than 500,000 more health professionals will be needed in the coming decade.

The effects of the shortage are already being felt as a record 6.5 million residents were waitlisted for treatment in April alone and the UK is consistently missing the 18 week target for treatment.

In the face of these results MPs slammed the government for the absence of a credible strategy to combat what they describe as “the greatest workforce crisis in NHS history.”

“The persistent understaffing of the NHS now poses a serious risk to staff and patient safety both for routine and emergency care. It also costs more as patients present later with more serious illness. But most depressing for many on the frontline is the absence of any credible strategy to address it— The Government has shown a marked reluctance to act decisively. The workforce plan promised in the Spring has not yet been published,” the report explains

The pandemic is also contributing to the struggle as the report claims the NHS Will need 4,000 more doctors and 19,000 more nurses immediately to clear the COVID backlog.

Doctors and nurses are forced to pick up more hours which results conversely in more sick days as they are overworked. The report said in August 2021 alone the NHS lost two million full-time equivalent days to sickness; more than 560,000 of those sick days were attributed to anxiety, stress, depression or another psychiatric illness.

Additionally the effects of this shortage for Caribbean countries including the Turks and Caicos cannot be overlooked. The islands, as are others in the region, are already losing nurses at a rapid rate.  If the UK ramps up its recruitment of overseas nurses, the Caribbean and the Turks and Caicos will be facing yet another formidable contender for medical professionals.