Two thirds of hospitals short of doctors

♦ Two thirds of hospitals and almost half of GP practices now have shortages of doctors, a poll suggests.

Doctors said they were being forced to “juggle” large numbers of patients and leave many suffering delays because of staff shortages. Two thirds of doctors said A&E services had deteriorated in the past year, while even more said access to GPS had worsened.

The poll of 900 doctors found 71 per cent of those working in hospitals had seen shifts left uncovered due to staff shortages, while 47 per cent of GPS reported vacancies in their practice. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the British Medical Association Council, which conducted the poll, said: “This isn’t safe for patients and it isn’t sustainable for doctors.” A Department of Health spokesman said the response rate to the survey equated to less than one per cent of all NHS doctors. He added: “We recently announced a huge 25 per cent increase in training places for doctors, underlining our commitment to ensuring the NHS has the staff it needs now and in the future.”