Scarlett McNally: The NHS at 75—let’s celebrate it and preserve it for the future

As we celebrate the NHS turning 75 this month, we should consider how to preserve it. The NHS has both employed me and saved my life, as a surgeon and a patient. A stem cell transplant helped me recover from myeloma and cardiac amyloidosis, and ongoing maintenance therapy (along with wages) sustains me.But there are problems. The General Medical Council’s recent report on workplace experiences shows that doctors are now in a vicious cycle, with unmanageable workloads causing low job satisfaction and 25% at high risk of burnout.1 This leads to doctors leaving the workforce. The report contains worthy wellbeing recommendations about providing coffee and support, but these miss the point: the biggest barrier to effective safe working is insufficient staff, as 56% of doctors cite rota gaps as the cause of compromised care.1 These gaps also reduce educational opportunities for doctors in postgraduate training, as they’re required to provide…
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