One of Wales’ top doctors has issued a grim warning about the future of the NHS. Dr Hilary Williams has warned that the “whole NHS is bursting at the seams”, and that the health service is in desperate need for more money and staff to give “patients what they need, and more importantly, what they deserve”.
Dr Williams is the vice president for Wales for the Royal College of Physicians and has made the comments alongside a report from the RCP which claims almost half of doctors in Wales are planning to retire in the next decade. Hundreds of doctors are in Cardiff on Thursday for the annual Wales Updated in medicine conference where details of a 2022 census of consultant physicians will be discussed.
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The census found that 47% of consultant physicians are expected to reach their intended retirement age within the next decade, which is likely to remove more than 400 doctors from the NHS Wales medical workforce by 2032. The RCP warns that without enough doctors in training staying in Wales to replace them, staffing shortages will continue to worsen, leading to even tougher working conditions and a growing recruitment and retention crisis. Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news..
Dr William’s full statement said: “Medicine is more than a career for many people, and as doctors, we are passionate about providing excellent patient care – but we’re trying to do too much, with too few people and too little money. We certainly need to take better care of our junior doctors, especially those working in smaller local hospitals around Wales where the workload is becoming unsustainable.
‘”Im afraid to say our census findings from Wales paint a grim picture of frequent rota gaps, unfilled consultant vacancies and excessive workloads. With only a third of consultant physicians feeling in control of their workload and almost half planning to retire within the next 10 years, we really are facing a serious situation. We need more staff on the ground – not just doctors, but nurses, therapists and social workers too – and we need more investment in social and community care.
“The whole NHS is bursting at the seams. Many people in Wales are living with ill-health. Some of them are living rurally or a long way from their nearest specialist hospital, and we need to think about how we look after these patients in the future. Healthcare is changing, and so must we.
“Being a doctor is an immense privilege, and I love my job, but things need to change. We can spend lots of money on new drugs and technologies, but ultimately without enough staff, we simply can’t give patients what they need, and more importantly, what they deserve.” For the latest health and Covid news sign up to our newsletter here.
The census also found:
- Only 33% of consultant physicians feel in control of their workload.
- 57% of consultant physicians report vacant consultant posts.
- 61% of consultant physicians report daily or weekly trainee rota gaps.
- 74% of consultant physicians feel that rota gaps are having a negative impact on patient care.
- 82% of consultant physicians routinely work above their contracted hours.
- 41% of consultant physicians say that they have an excessive workload.
- 52% of consultant physicians working full time would like to reduce their hours.
- 47% of consultant physicians intend to retire within the next decade.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Despite pressures on our budget the NHS workforce is at record levels, thanks to sustained investment in education and training. There is a global shortage of all health care workers and we are working with health boards to fill vacancies against this backdrop. We’ve increased our training budget for the ninth year in a row to £281m this year, and our National Workforce Implementation plan sets out actions to how we will improve recruitment, retention and reduce reliance on agency staff.”
