The RCP has responded to the IPPR's report ‘Recover, Reward, Renew’, warning that one in four healthcare staff may leave the NHS in England due to the pressures of the pandemic.
Commenting on the report, Professor Andrew Goddard, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said: “As we said last week when the NHS Confederation published its report about the potential for staff to leave the NHS if they are not given time and space to recover, scheduled time off when the worst of the pandemic is over is a must.
“We also agree that we need to renew the NHS offer to clinicians and others if it is to attract and retain the people it needs. But that will only be truly possible when we have the long-term workforce planning this report talks about.
“We went into the pandemic with almost half of advertised consultant posts going unfilled. The Royal College of Physicians has published a fully costed blueprint for expansion – but we now need government to set out its own plans for increasing the clinical workforce.”