Unfilled job vacancies fuelling problems in NHS
About one in 10 full-time equivalent posts in the NHS were vacant at the end of June, new figures show.
NHS Digital data shows there were 132,139 full-time equivalent vacancies across the health service in June - up sharply from 105,855 at the end of March.
Vacancies had previously peaked at 111,864 in June 2019. The vacancy rate stood at 9.7% - the highest on record.
Experts say the staffing crisis is one of the key factors fuelling the NHS’s struggle to cope with higher demand, the aftermath of the pandemic and A&E departments failing to hit key waiting time targets.
NHS Providers’ Saffron Cordery, said that the Government's
failure to fully fund this year's pay awards alongside concerns over pension taxation for senior staff will make it harder to recruit new staff.
She added: "These vacancy figures are staggering and further proof that the NHS simply doesn't have enough staff to deliver everything being asked of it. With nearly one in 10 posts in England now vacant many staff face unsustainable workloads and burnout as they strive to bring down waiting lists and treat patients as quickly as possible.
“The situation could have been avoided. Successive governments have failed to adequately train and recruit the workforce the NHS needs.
"Not investing in training is a false economy and is the underlying cause of many of the problems the health system currently faces."
The DHSC said the Government is on track to deliver on its manifesto commitment to have 50,000 more nurses by 2024, with 29,000 more nurses recruited since September 2019.