23.08.17
Scottish workforce shortages linked to rising paediatrics unit closures
Scottish doctors have today warned that shortages in the workforce are putting children’s health services under considerable pressure and leading to wards closing on a regular basis.
Findings from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) discovered that over the past 12 months, one in four of Scotland’s paediatrics inpatients units, and more than 40% of neonatal units, shut their doors.
It goes on to say that pressures on a stretched workforce are the primary reason for this, and that the government should immediately work to increase the number of training posts to help fill large rota gaps across children’s services in Scotland.
“Time and again we see rota gaps in paediatric services causing significant strain on the system and these figures show that staffing shortages are leading to service closures all too often,” said RCPCH’s office for Scotland Professor Steve Turner. “This can only be resolved by increasing the numbers coming into paediatrics.”
The British Medical Association (BMA) also commented on the report, saying that the situation set out by the college would be familiar to doctors working in many different specialties across Scotland, however, and that it was a further demonstration of the real problems that difficulties in recruitment and retention were causing in Scotland’s NHS.
“While overall the medical workforce is increasing, the number of doctors working in Scotland is not growing at a fast-enough rate to keep up with escalating demand on the health service,” said BMA consultant committee chair Simon Barker.
“The most recent figures showed that over 400 consultant posts in Scotland were unfilled, half of which have been empty for more than six months,” he added. “And those gaps in the consultant workforce are only the posts needed to meet levels of demand now, let alone future need.
“Every unfilled post puts enormous strain on remaining staff, who are stretched further and further as they try to cover for vacant positions.
“That is unsustainable and directly contributes to services deteriorating, such as the closures to new admissions highlighted by the RCPCH, or poorer performance against waiting time targets.”
The call also follows the BMA warnings that there was now a “complete disconnect” between management and staff in Scotland.
Top Image: Sasiistock
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