NHS Scotland is stuck in ‘vicious cycle’ over care backlog

The record backlog in hospital care is causing “untold strain” on NHS workers, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has said.

The College has warned that NHS staff feel “under pressure and undervalued” and “do not get joy from their jobs anymore” as it called for improvement in staff wellbeing across the health service.

It said the NHS is stuck in a “vicious cycle” where more staff are needed to help tackle the backlog but the waiting list is causing strain on current staff.

Some 6.4 million people are on the waiting list in England alone.

Care backlog is placing strain on NHS Scotland workers Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images

The College said the cycle can be broken with better recruitment and retention of staff.

It has called for a suite of measures to help retain and support staff, including staff break rooms and recreational facilities, universal free hospital staff parking, overnight accommodation where needed, access to fresh and healthy food and mental health support.

Many of these measures are used widely in the private sector but “completely neglected” in the NHS, it said.

“The last two years have been very challenging for those working in the NHS but as we begin to slowly come out the other side of the pandemic, I fear we are at real risk of a major workforce crisis as staff who have been left burned out continue to feel under pressure and undervalued,” said Professor Michael Griffin, College president, told its Triennial Conference in Edinburgh.

“Many NHS workers simply do not get joy from their jobs anymore, partly because they lack basic facilities that the majority of UK workers take for granted.

“We are stuck in a vicious cycle in which hospitals are dealing with record waiting lists which cannot be tackled without adequate staffing, and this backlog is causing untold strain on workers, not to mention risking patient safety.

“The only way to break the cycle is to attract and retain more workers, and to do so, we need to make the NHS a better place to work.

“Pay is important but we also need to transform the NHS so it is seen as an attractive employer and a safe and comfortable place to work, which at the moment it is not.”