‘We should do more to retain staff’

Kent and Medway CCG accountable officer, Wilf Williams (pictured), said lessons must be learnt from failures in recruitment and staff retention. He said: “It must not just be about managing risks but looking at how services can be provided better.”

The board agreed they would also need to look at the underlying reasons behind why nurses had left and devise solutions. It had also considered the setting up of a clinical ethics committee and more environmentally friendly ways of working that would reduce excess travel. Board members noted initial complaints from the public at the outset of the Covid-19 crisis as they felt doctors were not being readily available. However, it added patients became more understanding of the increasingly digital ways in which they were working and were generally receptive to the use of e-consultations going forward.

The CCG recently unveiled a digital dashboard to help the region’s seven hospitals tackle the coronavirus pandemic. It gives NHS staff real-time information on how many and which types of beds are available, as well as daily updates on PPE and details of staff off sick with Covid-19.

But with regards to GP surgeries, Dr Sarah Macdermott issued a word of caution with regards to any move towards “total virtual working”. She said: “Something I am seeing as a GP is for those people working at home it has been detrimental to their mental health.”

She added: “They are missing out on conversations with work colleagues.

The Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group discussed why NHS workers from minority backgrounds are less likely to speak out about problem issues and wrongdoing in the workplace