NHS soon ‘may reach breaking point’
Over-regulation and a lack of new specialist posts are set to put the NHS under ever-incresing strain, warn the UK Royal College of Physicians (RCP).
The RCP’s 2009 census of physicians raised concerns that although the number of consultant posts increased by 10.2%, this will not continue as funding becomes less forthcoming for training places.
Dr Andrew Goddard, the RCP’s director of medical workforce claimed that this, along with increasing admissions and rules on doctors working hours, is “adding further stress to a system which may reach breaking point within the next few years.”
Doctors were especially concerned about the European Working Time Directive (EWTD), which restricts doctors to working less than 50 hours per week. The RCP claims that this means consultants end up doing many of the jobs that would normally be done by junior doctors working longer hours.
The fear is that this will result in less recruitment of new doctors, even for those who are in their last two years of training. Dr Goddard added: : “We have already seen a drop in the number of new posts being advertised in 2010, and although we have enough doctors in training to develop a consultant delivered NHS, these doctors need to have jobs to go into if this service is to be realised.”
According to the survey, 59.2% of consultants had found their workloads increased, leaving them with little time to spend training new doctors.
Also a worry is the predicted decline in specialist posts dealing with acute medical problems.
Sir Richard Thompson, president of the RCP, said: “Patients deserve better care at night and at weekends, delivered by consultant physicians, and this will only be achievable if we continue to increase the number of posts, particularly in acute medicine.”
The strain on the NHS is only set to rise with increasing hospital admissions and the fact that more and more people are living longer, demanding specialist elderly care.
Although the NHS budget is being protected in the spending review, the far smaller increases in funding over the next four years have raised concerns that the Health Service will nonetheless come under pressure to reorganise.
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