UK Nurse Shortages May Double To 70,000 In 5 Years Unless Gov't Funds Sector - Think Tank

Sumaira FH Published March 21, 2019 | 06:16 PM

The UK National Health Service's (NHS) nurse shortages may double to 70,000, while general practitioner (GP) shortages may triple to 7,000 within the next five years unless the UK government provides adequate funding for the sector, a UK health think tank said in a report released on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st March, 2019) The UK National Health Service's (NHS) nurse shortages may double to 70,000, while general practitioner (GP) shortages may triple to 7,000 within the next five years unless the UK government provides adequate funding for the sector, a UK health think tank said in a report released on Thursday.

"The pipeline of newly qualified staff is struggling to keep up with the pace at which staff are leaving and demand for health care is growing. As a result, the staffing shortfall would more than double to 70,000 FTE [full-time equivalent] nurses in five years' time ... Our projections again suggest that, if current trends continue, the equivalent gap in five years' time would amount to 7,000 FTE GPs," the report, compiled by Nuffield Trust in association with independent UK charity Health Foundation and the King's Fund, another think tank, said.

According to the report, NHS hospitals and mental health facilities are currently experiencing a shortage of more than 100,000 full-time staff, equivalent to one in 11 posts.

The shortages, primarily in nursing about 41,000 vacancies are severely effecting the vulnerable population, the think tank added.

To counteract the current trend of growing shortages and declining quality of health care, the think tank recommended that the government significantly increase financial support for nursing students, raise salaries to boost staff retention and increase international recruitment.

Additionally, the report recommended that the government increase its health education budget by an additional 900 million Pounds ($1.18 billion) per year by the year of 2023/2024.

The NHS is due to publish its workforce implementation plan next month. It will take into account the government's future budget for investing in the workforce in the form of training, education and professional development. In October, UK Chancellor Phillip Hammond confirmed a funding boost of about 20 billion pounds by 2024 for the NHS.