A new analysis of the workforce crisis in the NHS shows that a record number of more than 400 workers in England have left the NHS every week to restore their work-life balance over the last year.
Staff have cited burnout and cases of post-traumatic stress disorder following two years of battling the Covid pandemic as reasons for leaving. There are now concerns that the exodus is impacting the quality of care, with more than a quarter of adults saying they or an immediate family member had received poor care as a result of the workforce problems.
The findings emerged in an assessment of the health service compiled by John Hall, a former strategy director at the Department of Health and Social Care, for the Engage Britain charity. Concerns over the state of the workforce came top of its list as it investigated the public’s attitude towards health and social care services, which remain under pressure in the wake of the pandemic.
Full story in The Guardian, 26 February 2022