Hunt: staff shortage due to excessive 'optimism'

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has admitted successive governments — including his own — have failed to train enough staff to satisfy the needs of the NHS. Speaking during health questions in Commons, Mr Hunt blamed the rocketing NHS agency bill, which drained the service of £3bn last year, on an ‘optimistic’ view of how few staff could safely manage a ward. Mr Hunt (pictured) claimed to be taking action to decrease the vast costs — suggesting the agency cap implemented by the Government last year, which gives hospitals a defined limit on spending with agencies, would save £1bn a year. Answering a question put to the house, which asked what the Government’s plans were to reduce agency spending, the health secretary said: ‘We’ve taken tough measures to control unsustainable spending on agency staff. Agency spending is now falling.’ Mr Hunt was pushed to respond further by Southport Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh, who said: ‘I don’t share his [Mr Hunt’s] optimism. ‘The real problem is the shortage of permanent staff.’ The health secretary said: ‘I think he [Mr Pugh] is right. I think historically we have not trained enough staff to work in the NHS and been optimistic about the staff needs. 'In this parliament we will be training more than 11,000 doctors as a result of the spending review and 40,000 more nurses.’   Spending 'through the roof' Speaking later on in the d...
Source: BMA News - Category: UK Health Source Type: news