Staff shortages are now a national crisis

[Confusedofbritain]

Staff shortages across many sectors is now a national crisis surely? I’ve given up expecting anything of this government, but why isn’t Labour beating them with a stick over this?

Some examples which affect me personally….

• Can’t go on holiday due to cancelled flight, cause by lack of ground staff.
• I work for NHS trust and we have closed a ward due to c 50% vacancies. We have plenty of money but can’t spend it. Now competing with other trusts paying increasingly high golden handshakes.
• Tried to book restaurant for Tuesday birthday. Not possible as all places shut Monday and Tuesday due to short staff (esp chefs).
• Poor service when we do go out. Staff look frazzled.
• Can’t get a builder to do an extension. Often not bothering to quote. Builder friend can’t keep labourers and brickies. Paying increasingly high wages but getting poached.
• Window fitter quoted me 2x higher than 2019 (for a much smaller window!) probably because they’re so busy and can’t increase capacity due to lack of staff. So prices have gone up by 100%.
• Long delay in discharge for father from hospital, due to long waits for care package (caused by staff shortages). He was in hospital a lot longer than necessary and declined hugely as result.

It’s largely caused by Brexit, partly people retiring or changing livelihood during Covid…:.but why wasn’t this anticipated and what are we doing about it?

I want to see posters EVERYWHERE encouraging people to consider NHS careers. It’s a rewarding career, but impossible to cope and keep going with so few staff. We are escalating to NHS England constantly, saying we need a national solution. It’s beyond critical, but I’m not confident that there is a national drive to sort this out.

The economic and social consequences of ignoring this massive structural issue will be disastrous!

I used to enjoy those undercover boss type tv shows. It needs something similar done as an exercise on a massive scale. Then the findings acted upon.
eg hospital why can’t we get cleaners. Shifts could fall on any of 7 days a week but bus is 5 days. You are immediately preventing anyone without a car, anyone without weekend childcare from applying. What can we do - advertise as Mon to Fri or Sat-Sun shifts. Put mini bus on if no public bus. Suddenly you’ve opened it up and get lots of applicants.

@Artwodeetoo is spot on.

Our hospital is on the edge of town with crap public transport that only really caters to 9-5ers. The Park and Ride is jam packed and completely shit, leaving early or running SUPER late constantly.

I was an HCA for years and went back just before the pandemic after time off because I couldn't affors childcare on the wage. I desparately wanted to do the NA apprenticeship as did a lot of my colleagues amd we all got interviewed/got a place. It was so badly fucking run that half of us quit. The other half got so fucked over that they signed up for the full degree at our local uni. I left because we got shat on so badly over the pandemic that it killed what little joy was left in nursing for me. I was screamed at, hit, spat at and abused by families who werent allowed to see their dying relatives, screeched at by patients who couldn't see their families, shat on some more by management who were under enormous pressure from their own superiors, having to hold the hands of people dying alone because they couldn't possibly allow even one relative in to say goodbye and all for an absolute pittance of a wage which BEFORE the financial crisis had me choosing between heating or feeding my kids (I just straight up didn't eat). I can't imagine what thats like now there is a crisis going on and costs are increasing. because I decided then I never wanted to work frontline healthcare in the NHS again. And they still whine "we can't do anything about this" when all it would take is an actual increase in wages to make a large amount of people want to stay in the job.

And after all of that and what did we get? Pizza. And most of us werent on shift at the time because it went to the night staff. Thanks.

All keyworkers were just crapped on repeatedly by everyone from every single angle and now the nation is back to spitting on us instead of clapping for us, yet we all sit here and wonder why no one wants to work in those roles anymore? Wake the fuck up.

I don’t agree that the Tories want the NHS to fail. The polls show that the NHS is incredibly popular with Tory voters. Sure, some individuals want it, but it’s not a policy. Private trusts have failed (eg Hinchingbrooke).

They have been quite clear and open about technology being used more- the focus is on this. It will inevitably mean opening up to the private sector (already happening) but these companies won’t be competing with NHS providers. The private sector is not going to be managing and commissioning care. Just providing some of the services like IT companies (Emis etc) already do). There are no plans for private insurance schemes.

In general there doesn't seem to be much willingness for employers to enter any sort of dialogue with either their potential workers or those who educate them to see where things are going wrong.

I don’t agree that the Tories want the NHS to fail. The polls show that the NHS is incredibly popular with Tory voters. Sure, some individuals want it, but it’s not a policy

Of course its not a "policy" but when Conservative MPs pressure Johnson, its not about fixing the NHS, its about further tax cuts, so whilst free healthcare is popular (of course it is!) when given the choice, Tory voters go Tax cuts every time.
Thatcher wanted rid of it decades ago.

The things that would fix many of the staffing issues in the NHS are fairly simple (we've all suggested them) some would self fund as less spent on agency but they don't do it and the question is why?

Easily answered if you read Britannia Unchained written by now leading Tories a few years ago.

I don’t agree that the Tories want the NHS to fail. The polls show that the NHS is incredibly popular with Tory voters. Sure, some individuals want it, but it’s not a policy

I think the Tory MPs DO want the NHS to fail because they stand to benefit from that. Tory voters are not the same people as Tory MPs. You have this paradox where the two don't have the same aims and ambitions. The former wish to have their cake and eat it whilst convincing the latter that they really do want the NHS whilst simulataineously profitting from privatisation.

This isn't a situation where you can assume the two want the same thing. Its perfectly possible for one to be set on profitting personally whilst thinking they can screw those who support them over.

www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-27/staff-incentives-employer-post-covid-worker-shortage/101100888

I can confirm the same thing is happening in Australia.

Tory MPs DO want the NHS to fail because they stand to benefit from that.

Absolutely, the Tories want to privatise the NHS. Only a complete fool would think otherwise.

In the US, health spending accounts for over 20 per cent of the US economy and the health care sector is growing at 10 per cent per annum. US citizens spend over £10,000 per person on average on health care.

There is potential for businesses to make enormous profits if the NHS is privatised. Access to the UK healthcare market will be the carrot dangled to US healthcare providers as the incentive for the US to negotiate a trade deal.

We are fucked.

www.theguardian.com/money/2022/jun/11/record-uk-petrol-price-risks-a-mass-exodus-of-essential-workers?CMP=share_btn_tw