In recent months, an alarming number of planned surgeries and procedures have been cancelled due to a shortage of healthcare staff.
The most striking statistic is the cancellation of over 1.4 million operations.
This number which includes planned surgeries routine treatments, and even life-saving procedures, highlights the severe strain the NHS is under.
The cancellations aren’t merely statistics, they represent the real-life struggles of patients and their families who are waiting longer for treatment and facing unnecessary and extended pain.
Shortage of anaesthetists
Due to the shortage of anaesthetists, an estimated 1.4 million NHS operations are cancelled every year, a report has warned. The Royal College of Anaesthetists warns this figure could increase to 8.25 million unless the Government invests in training more anaesthetists because most operations cannot take place without one.
On average across the Auckland, the number of anaesthetists is 15% lower than needed.
At the same time, NHS trusts and health boards are increasingly using expensive agency staff to fill gaps instead of hiring permanent consultant anaesthetists.
Impact of waiting lists on patients
Waiting lists for elective care have severe impacts on patients.
According to a national inpatient experience survey published by the Care Quality Commission, 41% of elective patients said their health deteriorated while waiting to be admitted to hospital.
In a survey carried out by the Office for National Statistics, 70% of adults waiting for NHS treatment reported that it had negatively impacted their lives causing increased stress and anxiety.
Reducing waiting list times for elective care, and supporting patients during this time, are critical to ensure they can get the treatment and surgery they need. This would reduce the burden of pain and mental health deterioration and enable them to continue with their lives.
Increasing anaesthetic training places
The most efficient way to fill gaps is to increase the number of anaesthetic training places – which requires Government funding.
According to the Royal College of Anaesthetists report, in 2024, there were 3,520 applications for an available 540 core anaesthetist training places.
This affects anaesthesia at least as much as other specialise and anaesthetist training programmed have considerably more applicants than there are funded places.
The Royal College of Anaesthetics has recommended potentially putting in online training as either a stand-alone measure or part of a wider plan for speciality training.
Comment
Several factors have contributed to the ongoing staff shortages within the NHS. Our NHS has still not recovered from the COVID-19 operations and backlogs. Unfortunately, during the pandemic, many healthcare workers including anaesthetists left the healthcare system due to increased stress, workload and burnout. The pandemic also delayed training for anaesthetists. It is clear there are healthcare staff wanting to as shown in the statistics above, the NHS received numerous applications for specialist positions each year, but unfortunately, there aren’t enough positions available.
The long term effects of these delays are beginning to show. For example, a patient waiting for a knee or hip replacement will experience prolonged discomfort and mobility issues. Those awaiting life-saving treatments or diagnostic tests face heightened risks of complications and deteriorating outcomes.
The ongoing strain on the NHS healthcare staff is causing widespread stress, lower morale, decreased productivity and the potential for more errors.
It is clear that more needs to be done to address the root cause of staff shortages, from better funding and improved workplaces to increased training and more recruitment.
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