Stay on to help clear backlog, doctors urge retired colleagues who returned to work

RETIRED doctors who answered a call to return to work are being urged by their peers to stay and help tackle the Covid-19 backlog, as a poll shows twothirds of medics think the NHS will take years to return to normal.

Doctors’ leaders are also calling for the NHS to make better use of technology to triage cases and clear the queue of operations and treatments which have built up because of the pandemic.

A British Medical Association survey of doctors found that seven in 10 thought it was unlikely “normal levels of activity” will be achieved within a few months. A third of doctors told the survey they thought it would take more than a year to clear waiting lists for elective procedures.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, council chairman of the BMA, yesterday urged the NHS to continue the employment of thousands of doctors who returned to work to help with the pandemic.

Dr Nagpaul said: “We should not remove all of those doctors who have volunteered to help the NHS. With retired doctors, we don’t want to see them put at risk because they are often older.

“But what they can do is a significant amount of work to clear the backlog. This is not a panacea to solving the backlog, but it may be one in a range of options that could play a part. We need to retain as many staff as possible, including those who so admirably returned to the workforce.”

Dr Nagpaul also urged patients with concerns not to hesitate in seeking help, and added that he wanted more “digital enablement” to replace some face to face care, allowing doctors to manage patients more efficiently.

This included texting results to patients or emailing blood pressure results and dealing with them online instead of at an appointment.

A source close to Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said: “Matt is very proud of how we hired thousands of former doctors. They have played a massive role already and there is a huge backlog to clear, especially in cancer [cases].”