Urgent response to tackle NHS and social care staff burnout needed from Government., including pay, recruitment and long term planning

Workforce burnout across the NHS and social care has reached an emergency level according to the Health and Social Care House of Commons Select Committee. Newcastle Liberal  Democrats Spokesperson for Health and Social Care, Dr Wendy Taylor commented:

"As this report shows, the pandemic has clearly taken its toll on NHS staff, health and social care workers, who have gone above and beyond over the course of this crisis. They are burned out, traumatised, and stressed after over a year caring for hundreds of thousands of severely ill Covid patients. On top of this, they have worked tirelessly to get as many people vaccinated as efficiently and as safely as possible.

"The Government not only need to reward them properly for their service with a proper pay rise but support them for the challenges ahead. Staff are exhausted and will struggle to tackle the growing list of those wating for treatment, which is now nearing 5 million, unless the Government gets a grip of pressures facing the workforce.

"That's why the Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to recruit more staff and create a proper long-term workforce plan. Current workloads are unsustainable and many are staff are considering leaving. Recruiting more staff, paying them better and planning for the long-term is the only way to tackle this looming crisis."