Boost NHS morale with pizza, say doctors

NHS bosses should order in pizza for hard-pressed staff as winter pressures mount, leading doctors say.

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges said senior managers should buy fast food for employees in a bid to foster goodwill. A guide issued by the academy urges NHS management to boost morale and provide “practical support” when times are busy.

“Organising a pizza delivery for hard-pressed doctors and nurses can buy an awful lot of goodwill,” the guide states. “False economies, such as closing the canteen at night or not providing hot drinks and cups to drink from are just that.”

The advice from the academy, which represents all the medical colleges, contrasts with orders from the head of the NHS to restrict the availability of junk food in hospitals.

It also follows research earlier this week that found more than a quarter of NHS nurses were obese.

Advice from the academy also urges hospitals to consider reducing routine operations so staff can be available for A&E. And it says hospitals should be “creative” in the deployment of staff. Consultants could, for example, be posted at hospital entrances to decide if patients actually needed admitting.

The guidance – the first time such advice has been issued by the academy – firmly puts patient care above targets.

The NHS has been given an extra £335million to ease winter pressures, amid fears that hospitals will struggle if Britain were to suffer a flu epidemic.