So Wes Streeting has said if Labour get into power, he will fix the NHS by getting staff to work overtime. Do people think this will actually work?
I work for the NHS in a hospital pathology lab. We are running at absolute full capacity. We don't have enough machines or staff to run the samples we already have, never mind extra ones from extra clinics. Overtime is already on offer to staff. The staff in their 20s, don't want it because extra money they earn will be taken by student loans or they don't have time because they already work a second job (uber eats or in a pub) as the NHS isn't paying them enough to cover their basic needs; rent/food/fuel. The staff (we are 80% female) aged between 30 and 45 - don't want overtime, mostly they only want contracted hours of 20-25 per week because they have young children at home who they need to be with. The ones of us (me included) aged between 45 and 55 ARE picking up extra hours, but there is only so much more than the contracted hours (37.5 a week over 5 days) that each person wants/feels able to do. The staff aged 55 and above don't want overtime because their mortgages are paid off, the kids have flown the nest, they don't need so much money and want to 'wind down' a bit.
I'm guessing this situation plays out all across the NHS. There comes a point when having personal time becomes more of a priority than earning extra money. So to Wes Streting I would say, have a re-think...could buying new, reliable equipment (and enough of it) be a better solution than trying to flog an already shattered workforce further into the ground.