NHS staff shortages ‘putting patients at risk’ as hospitals could rely on hiring foreign staff ‘for a decade’, bosses warn
A report from NHS Providers say that any more shortages in staff 'will make treatment delays worse'
CRITICAL NHS staff shortages are increasingly putting patients at risk, hospital bosses have warned.
They also claimed there could be a reliance on hiring foreign workers for at least a decade. But they said Brexit uncertainty is making that harder.
Two-thirds said a lack of doctors and nurses is currently the biggest threat to safe care.
A report from NHS Providers, the organisation that represents hospital trusts, warns any further falls in staffing will make treatment delays worse.
One unnamed mental health trust boss said: “Without EU and non-EU recruitment, it is going to be very difficult to adequately staff services for the next 5-10 years.”
The claims come despite Government plans to boost numbers of UK-trained health workers.
Think tank the Nuffield Trust claims a “no-deal” Brexit would lead to further shortages.
And the Royal College of Nursing says the NHS will go said: "NHS leaders fear that patients are paying the price as staffing shortages bite. Ministers can no longer dismiss warnings of this kind.
“When the NHS has never been busier, it is haemorrhaging experienced nurses at a faster rate than it can find new recruits.
"For as long as we fail to train enough British nurses, we must be able to recruit the best from around Europe. If there is a ‘cliff edge’ in 2019, it will be the NHS going over it."
