Junior doctors working in England’s National Health Service started a six-day strike over wages on Wednesday, a desperate move in a demoralised NHS suffering from huge workloads, staff shortages and lack of investment, according to Politico.
Healthcare workers are demanding pay rises since 2022 to keep up with inflation, which is also part of a wider sense of dissatisfaction among staff who feel overworked and undervalued, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic.
UK healthcare faces challenges on all fronts. Firstly, there are fewer doctors per capita than any other country in Europe. Secondly, healthcare providers and think tanks have systematically reported staff shortages and expressed alarm over the impact on patient care and workforce.
Moreover, underinvestment led to the NHS being ill-prepared for emergencies and staggered in the aftermath of the pandemic. This had a negative impact on staff morale.
Doctors are increasingly reporting high levels of stress and burnout and are losing the will to pursue their profession in the future. For instance, over 70 per cent of UK general practitioners report stress, far higher than their European counterparts.
The British Medical Association (BMA), which includes junior doctors, claims it has witnessed a “steep decline in pay” since 2008-2009. The association says the government’s proposed pay adjustments are insufficient.
The government has refused to negotiate with junior doctors unless they cease the strike.
Years of cuts to the health system have made the UK more vulnerable to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Health Foundation, the spending gap between the UK and the rest of Europe exceeded £30bn between 2010 and 2019.
Workforce shortages have led to increased waiting times for treatment. As demand for non-COVID treatment rebounds after 2020, waiting times have increased to record highs. As of October 2023, over 7 million people were on NHS waiting lists for treatment across England.
An annual survey by NHS England has revealed rising rates of dissatisfaction with staffing levels among its personnel. A study by the Health Foundation’s REAL Centre found that NHS staffing in England may need to increase to 440,000 full-time equivalents (FTE) by the end of the decade to provide the same level of care as before the pandemic and maintain it.
The ongoing junior doctors’ strike is just the latest example of medical staff striking over low wages. NHS England’s annual workforce surveys show that satisfaction with pay has fallen across all staff groups between 2018 and 2022, with notable declines among doctors, nurses and social care workers.
Some OECD data does show that nominal salaries for UK professionals, not adjusted for inflation, are in line with other European countries. However, when the cost of living is taken into account, the data reveals that the purchasing power of salaries has fallen significantly among all groups of medical staff, according to analysis by the Nuffield Trust.
Among other problems, the declining morale of UK health professionals stands out. The Commonwealth Fund’s 2022 survey of GPs in 10 countries, with additional analysis by the Health Foundation, found that British doctors were the least satisfied with their jobs and reported the highest stress rates.
The survey also found that UK GPs were among the least satisfied with some aspects of their practice, in particular administrative time and workload.
Working on the frontline during the pandemic was a stressful and traumatic experience for many health professionals, and the increased levels of stress following the pandemic exacerbated an already stressful job.
Stress, burnout and emotional distress can affect GPs’ intention to continue working. The Commonwealth Fund’s 2022 study found that GPs in the UK are more likely to plan to stop seeing patients regularly in the next 1-3 years, especially if they are older or report higher levels of stress.
It is therefore crucial for the UK government to look at the working conditions of healthcare professionals, as with this approach the country risks facing even greater staff shortages.
