According to the health committee in the London House of Commons, the British public health service NHS is experiencing the biggest personnel crisis in its history. “Persistent understaffing poses a serious risk to the safety of staff and patients – in both routine and emergency care,” said a committee report released Monday.
The goal of offering treatment within 18 weeks has not been met since 2016. An overwhelming majority of medical professionals believe that the current workforce will not be able to reduce the backlog caused by the pandemic.
At the same time, the demand for services in the health and care sector continues to rise. In the next few decades, 475,000 additional jobs will be needed in the health sector and 490,000 in nursing, it said.
The government has refused to act decisively. Some progress has been made in hiring additional nurses.
