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College President endorses report on NHS and Social Care burnout

11 Jun 2021

Professor Jackie Taylor, President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow has endorsed the findings of a new report Workforce burnout and resilience in the NHS and social care which concludes that an overhaul is needed to tackle NHS and social care workforce burnout which has now reached a state of emergency.

Professor Jackie Taylor, President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow has endorsed the findings of a new report Workforce burnout and resilience in the NHS and social care which concludes that an overhaul is needed to tackle NHS and social care workforce burnout which has now reached a state of emergency.

The Health and Social Care Committee at Westminster has published its findings that workforce burnout in both the NHS and social care poses a risk to the future functioning of both services.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on workforces’ pressures, the Committee was told of staff shortages across the NHS and social care before the pandemic. Only a total overhaul of workforce planning can solve the problem, MPs state in the new report.

The Committee heard that available funding is the driver behind planning, rather than the level of demand and staffing capacity to serve it. It also highlighted the absence of any meaningful planning looking at what staff resources are going to be needed over the next five to ten years.

Professor Taylor said:

“While this report makes depressing reading, I can only endorse its findings which highlights exactly the same points that I have been making.

“Our College has been working proactively with other stakeholders, and only in the past week took the lead in producing a new briefing document for the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in Scotland and other key decision makers.

“The document Recovering the healthcare workforce and service for our patients was a joint project by the Scottish Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties and BMA Scotland. Its purpose is to ensure that the views of the healthcare workforce contribute to discussions around recovery, remobilisation and transformation of the health service in the months and years ahead.

“In our document, we outline the four key inter-dependent areas of workforce, workload, wellbeing and innovation, with patient care at the core. It is essential that each of these areas is considered in initiatives focused on recovery, remobilisation and transformation, and in the government’s commitment to increasing productivity, tackling backlogs and developing new services.”

Category: Workforce


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Key priority areas

Workforce Recovery and Transformation
Health services in many parts of the world are over-stretched due to workforce shortages, rising demand for services and difficulties in retaining staff.
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Wellbeing
A healthy healthcare workforce is essential for patient care. When the workforce is exhausted, experiencing burnout, and struggling to balance their work and personal lives, it impacts on everyone.
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Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
We are committed to standing up for equality, diversity and inclusion. We want our College to reflect the diversity in the NHS workforce and in the patients that we care for.
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Climate Change and Sustainability
Climate change has caused great harm to our planet and warnings of increasingly extreme heatwaves, droughts and flooding will all place a significant burden on our health outcomes.
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Health Inequalities
The health inequalities in our society have been both highlighted and exacerbated by the covid pandemic. There is a need to do things differently.
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COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the lives of healthcare professionals, and the urgent need to learn whilemfocusing on delivering the best care for our patients has been an enormous challenge.
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