As many as one in four healthcare workers – equivalent to 330,000 staff - say they are more likely to leave the NHS due to a year of unprecedented pressure, according to new polling by IPPR/YouGov.
The figure - which includes the equivalent of 100,000 nurses and 8,000 midwives – adds pressure to a workforce that was experiencing a crisis of unfilled vacancies even before the pandemic.
A new IPPR report, ‘Recover, Reward, Renew’, argues that this is a direct result of pandemic pressures, on top of a decade of austerity.
The think tank's polling of 1,000 healthcare workers shows that: just under half of NHS staff worked an under-staffed shift once a week or more, and a 49 per cent report being unable to provide the level of patient care they would like to due to constraints beyond their control.
Concerning mental health, two thirds report being mentally exhausted on at least a weekly basis. A quarter report using alcohol and/or drugs to deal with stress weekly or more often. And five per cent of workers – the equivalent of 80,000 staff – report thinking about suicide or self-harm once a week or more.
The IPPR says that government policy is seen as a key driver of the pandemic’s severity. Almost nine in 10 workers identify slow or delayed government policy during the pandemic - such as late lockdowns - as an important contributor to the country’s coronavirus outcomes. Eight in 10 identify the fact the NHS was under-resourced at the start of the pandemic as important.
The report stresses that a bold workforce policy for healthcare staff is urgently needed, and that the government should focus this ‘new deal’ on three key areas: recover, reward and renew.
Dr Parth Patel, IPPR research fellow and NHS doctor, said: “The last 12 months have stretched an already very thin workforce to breaking point. Many are exhausted, frustrated and in need of better support. If the government does not do right by them now, more may leave their jobs.
“This should ring alarm bells for a government that came into power pledging big increases in nursing numbers. It would have significant consequences for patient safety and quality of care. The backlog of care is long and the pandemics’ disruptions will be felt for years to come. The hard road to renewal in health relies, first and foremost, on a new deal for NHS workers.”
Chris Thomas, IPPR senior research fellow, said: "Applause and empty plaudits are not a workforce strategy. Healthcare workers need a new deal based on recovery, reward and renewal after a year of unprecedented pressure.
“A new deal for the workforce means a right to flexible working, a five-year guarantee for untaken annual leave and compensation when leave requests are rejected. It means a fair pay award, to help retain workers and to boost the economy. And it means more career progression and tougher action to end discrimination.
“Bad policy during the pandemic and during the austerity decade created our workforce crisis. Good policy can get us out of the crisis now. If that’s not forthcoming, the government risks a deadly exodus of healthcare workers in the years to come.”
