NHS chiefs sound alarm on spiralling staff shortages

Exclusive Call for radical homegrown recruitment drive to avoid shortfall of 571,000 within 13 years

- Denis Campbell 

The NHS in England needs a massive injection of homegrown doctors, nurses, GPs and dentists to avert a recruitment crisis that could leave it short of an estimated 571,000 staff , according to an internal document seen by the Guardian.

A long-awaited workforce plan, produced by NHS England, says the health service is operating with 154,000 fewer full-time staff than it needs and this fi gure could soar to 571,000 by 2036 on current trends.

The 107-page blueprint, which is being examined by ministers, sets out detailed proposals to end the understaffi ng that has plagued the service for years. It says that without radical action the NHS in England will have 28,000 fewer GPs, 44,000 fewer community nurses and an even bigger shortage of paramedics within 15 years.

It suggests the NHS will not be able to cope with rising demand for care due to the growing and ageing population. Services in rural areas, already struggling to attract enough staff , will be unable to give patients – especially older people – the help and treatment required, it warns.

NHS England also makes clear in the blueprint its view, which is widely shared by health experts and staff groups, that the government must ditch its reliance on hiring more overseas health professionals – who now account for one in six of its workforce, double the number in 2014 – and spending billions a year on temporary staff – “poor value for money for the taxpayer”, it says.