Health bodies call for urgent update on staffing plan
THIRTY-THREE organisations across Wales have written a joint letter to First Minister Mark Drakeford calling on the Welsh Government to publish its “longawaited” workforce plan for the NHS and social care.
As the country braces itself for what is likely to be the most difficult winter in the history of the health service, the organisations claim they are “flying blind” due to a lack of reliable and upto-date workforce data and no implementation plan for the recruitment and retention of NHS and social care staff.
They claim the impact of staff shortages on patient care “cannot be underestimated” as waiting times reach record levels in Wales.
Cancer lists and ambulance performance times are the worst on record and overall waiting list numbers last month passed 750,000 for the first time.
The Royal College of Nursing has already announced that its members have voted to go on strike for the first time in its history and other unions such as Unison and GMB may follow. This is very likely to cause significant disruption in December and into 2023.
Dr Olwen Williams, vice-president for Wales at the Royal College of Physicians, said: “Staff shortages mean longer waiting lists, yet despite repeated promises from the Welsh Government we still don’t have a funded national workforce plan for health and social care – or any idea of when it will be published.
“These delays are making a difficult situation worse – without up-to-date vacancy data we simply don’t know the scale of the problems facing us.”
The 33 organisations claim their own data shows that doctors, social workers, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, and many others are facing a miserable winter. Here is a snapshot of their problems:
Only 36% of advertised consultant physician posts in Wales were filled in 2021;
49% of consultant physicians in Wales have an excessive workload ‘almost always’ or ‘most of the time’;
89% of pharmacists feel at high risk of burnout, with a third considering leaving their roles and the profession;
■ 70% of pharmacists report ‘inadequate staffing’ and 64% highlight ‘long hours and a lack of work/life balance’;
■ A fifth of the emergency medicine consultant workforce in Wales plan to retire by 2027;
■ A third of GPs expect to leave their role within five years;
■ Frontline social worker teams are carrying vacancies that equate to 10% of the social work team workforce;
■ There is a shortfall of around 150 anaesthetists in Wales; and
■ The number of NHS dentists has dropped nearly 8% since 2020.
Professor Jon Barry, director in Wales at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: “The NHS in Wales is bracing for a winter like none it has seen before. With signs of an early flu season, the continuing effects of Covid-19 and looming industrial action the period will be exceptionally difficult.
“At the same time, hospitals are grappling with low staff morale and burnout. In surgery the reality is without more nurses and anaesthetic staff to support surgeons in theatre we will struggle to bring record waiting lists down.
“There is no overnight fix. It is difficult to see how, without a clear workforce strategy we can begin to emerge from the crisis our health service is facing.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “There are more staff working in NHS Wales than ever before and this year we are investing record levels in training and professional education, £262m, including more training places than ever before. The Workforce Strategy published by Health Education and Improvement Wales and Social Care Wales sets out our long-term vision and actions for the health and social care workforce. We are also developing a shorter-term plan to help deal with current pressures on our workforce.”