Record 107,000 vacant posts in hard-pressed NHS
THE NHS has record staff shortages with 107,743 unfilled posts in England forcing trusts further into debt as they pay for temporary staff.
The shortage of nurses risks becoming a “national emergency” with 41,722 vacancies across trusts in England at the end of June.
There were also 11,576 unfilled posts for doctors.
Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at The King’s Fund, said the shortages were “symptomatic of a long-term failure in workforce planning”.
Between April and June, trusts spent £805million on bank staff and £599million on agency staff, leading to an annual overspend of more than £800million. Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “This funding crisis means wards overcrowded and treatments cut.”
In June, 3,402 patients had waited more than 52 weeks for treatment.