More frontline NHS workers have tried to leave the health service in recent months than at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the report.
By the summer of 2022, one in seven workers will be looking for work outside of the National Health Service, according to a University of Bath study pointing to declining morale in hospitals. It was even worse with paramedics and junior staff: in the spring of last year, every fourth wanted to go.
The figure for winter 2020-2021 was equal to one in 10 people who completed a non-NHS job application in the past six months.
The results of the report, called Should I stay or go? Retaining NHS Staff in the Post-Covid-19 Worldbased on three waves of data from over 17,000 NHS staff surveyed between late 2020 and summer 2022.
The report also notes that the positive impact on NHS staff retention appears to have waned since 2020. Some 44% cited job retention as a reason to stay in winter 2020, down from just 37% by spring 2022. Internal job satisfaction with patient care declined from 39 percent to 35 percent over the same period.
The top reasons why staff leave the NHS are stress (66%), lack of staff/resources (62%) and rewards (55%). In the winter of 2020, only 37% of employees cited wages as the reason for leaving, indicating the impact of the crisis on the cost of living.
An “unusually high shortage of staff” and “not enough time to do their job properly” were the main concerns of employees in the spring of 2022. Results of surveys conducted between December 2020 and July 2022.
Lead author Dr. Andrew Weiman said: “Employee scores across almost every variable studied have remained stable at best, worsening in a number of areas, primarily related to labor shortages, internal job satisfaction, morale, stress and mental health, as the 2020 pandemic does not manifest itself. . as a demon of speed followed by a return to normality, but as a blueprint foreshadowing a new and more negative normality.
“Solving staff retention to create a resilient healthcare system is a top priority for the NHS in a post-Covid-19 world. Pay is important, but improving this alone is unlikely to reduce dropout rates unless steps are taken to reduce workload and stress: employees feel undervalued, unsupported, and exhausted.”
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services said: “We are very grateful to the NHS staff who are working tirelessly to provide care – we are committed to retaining staff and making the NHS one of the best places to work.” The NHS has a record number of staff and by the end of this parliament there will be 50,000 more nurses in the NHS.”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.