While many dedicated doctors and nurses readily put in plenty of overtime during the height of the pandemic, it seems the demand has yet to reduce. Thousands of workers are still being asked to work unpaid overtime and concerns that many NHS staff might leave their jobs are rising, especially in the face of growing staff shortages.
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The pressure to work longer hours
Despite morale and motivation staying up, in order to clear the backlog of operations and treatments held up during the pandemic, staff say NHS trusts and service bosses are putting pressure on them to work extra hours. The official NHS waiting list has hit a record high of 5.61 million patients waiting for medical care and around 300,000 of those people have been waiting over a year for services (statistics for July 2021).
According to a 2020 NHS Staff survey, out of 5,500 doctors, 58% had worked extra hours, with 28% of those doctors additionally reporting that those hours were unpaid.
Two-fifths reported feeling pressure from their employer to put in extra hours. A third of medics also stated that they’d skipped breaks and 60% claimed feeling a higher than usual level of fatigue.
Longer term pressures
Indeed, the healthcare community has not had a break since the first wave of the outbreak. Healthcare workers have been asked to work overtime to care for patients as well as stay on top of their regular workload. Overworked and underappreciated staff presents an issue not only for the wellbeing of healthcare workers, but for the safety of patients as well.
The same 2020 NHS staff survey even reported that 40% became sick with stress while working during the pandemic.
With the vaccine being distributed, hopes that the pressure on the NHS might have eased haven’t quite materialised. The BMA insists there needs to be some honest conversations with the NHS and UK public to learn and manage expectations for care moving forward.
NHS staff need the commitment from leaders that the priority for staff will be rest and recovery. Only time will tell if doctors and nurses will get what they so desperately need. Currently in the news is talk of tax increases to pay for social care, which could help reduce some pressure.
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