NHS Staffing Crisis as Omicron Cases Surge

Gharam Al-Zubi 15 January 2022

Image courtesy of Sky News

On 8 January 2022 Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, announced that one in six NHS trusts declared a critical incident due to the surge of Omicron cases.

Declaring a critical incident means that priority services such as emergency care are under threat. The rise in cases lead to more than 17,000 occupied hospital beds across the UK.

Thousands of NHS staff have also been absent, as some are ill or self-isolating due to the surge of Omicron cases. As 194,747 cases were recorded in one day, setting the highest record ever since the start of the pandemic.

The shadow work and pensions secretary, Jon Ashworth, also added that there is lack of supply.

As a response to the unprecedent number of Covid-19 cases, the Armed Forces sent 200 personnel to assist in the NHS staffing shortage. The 40 defence medics will look after patients, while the 160 general duty personnel will check in patients and will keep the stock in check.

The Royal College of Nursing director for England, Patricia Marquis said: ‘The prime minister and others can no longer be dismissive of questions about the ability of NHS staff to deliver safe care,’

Chris Hopson, the chief executive of hospitals group NHS Providers also said: ‘The experience of the pandemic makes plain underlying issues which need resolution – the need for a national long-term plan for the health and care workforce, ongoing challenges with vacancies and recruitment pre-dating the pandemic by a number of years.’

The government also created a three-month agreement with the private health sector to aid the NHS. This agreement means that the private healthcare staff will be on standby, willing to assist the NHS if required. The NHS can also use private hospitals to treat their patients.

Retention is also an issue, where in late 2021, around 6,756 staff left their work due to concerns regarding work-life balance. This reduction of staff plays a major role in the staffing crisis the NHS is facing.

Healthcare professionals suggested several solutions to retain those employees including, increase in pay, providing more nurseries in hospitals, bursaries for student nurses and providing better protection, amongst other things.

This is not the first time the NHS faces such a crisis. In the winter of 2017-2018, more than 300 people a day died due to the flu season.

Another time these issues occurred were in January 2016, when hospitals cancelled routine operations and asked patients to steer away from A&E if they were able to.

Professor Kevin Fenton, Public Health England’s regional director for London said that the Omicron cases are starting to fall in London: ‘We think we may have passed or are at the peak.’

The plateau reached in hospital admissions may suggest that the Omicron surge is starting to abate.