NHS staffing crisis is putting staff and patients at risk, warns Shropshire MP
North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan says health staff and patients are at risk after a cross-party report warned the NHS was facing the worst staffing crisis in history.
She says the two hospitals in Shropshire and Telford currently have a vacancy rate of about 10 per cent.
The health and social care select committee revealed there was an absence of a credible government strategy on NHS-wide understaffing and criticises ministers for delaying a blueprint "urgently needed to address critical gaps in almost every area of care".
The hard-hitting report includes evidence showing that the staffing crisis in the NHS in England is even worse than official figures suggest.
NHS Digital figures suggest that the service has vacancies for 38,972 nurses and 8,016 doctors. However, the real figures could be as high as 50,000 and 12,000 respectively, according to estimates the Nuffield Trust prepared for the MPs.
Ms Morgan said: “This report will be no surprise to anyone involved in the NHS in Shropshire and further highlights the need for the Government to get a grip on our healthcare crisis.
“Understaffing is not fair on anyone: it is dangerous for patients and dangerous for staff.
“Recruitment and retention are a major challenge for the NHS in general but the problem is particularly acute in rural areas like North Shropshire where it can be very hard to attract staff. Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals are constantly trying to fill roles and have a vacancy rate of around 10 per cent.
“This is one of the reasons we are seeing such big queues for A&E and such long waiting lists for hospital appointments.
“The Government needs to hurry up and start planning for the long term while helping hospital trusts deal with the crisis they are already in. A long-term workforce strategy needs to be written into law to help health and social care providers plan properly for the future.”
