David Oliver , consultant in geriatrics and acute general medicine Berkshire davidoliver372{at}googlemail.comFollow David on Twitter @mancunianmedicThe covid pandemic has had a massive impact on elective care. Further suggested actions concern recruitment and retention of nurses, midwives, support workers, allied health professionals, and ancillary staff, as well as alternative staffing models. We have no magical supply of trained, but unemployed or retired, clinical staff just waiting to return to work. Our reliance on international graduates8 has been harmed by Brexit and immigration rules, but it’s also complacent, given the global shortage in the clinical workforce and more attractive conditions in other countries. The plan includes some sensible suggestions and ambitions, but that’s a far cry from making anything happen at the kind of scale that would help tackle the elective backlog.

Source: The Guardian June 01, 2022 08:51 UTC