OVER a third of doctors report that their organisation is not prepared for winter, according to a survey by the Royal College of Physicians London.
The survey of 866 UK RCP London fellows and members (conducted from 30 September and 4 October) found that 36 per cent feel their organisation is not at all prepared for winter. It also found that 27 per cent of doctors feel personally unprepared, almost two-thirds feel tired or exhausted, and 36.5 per cent feel demoralised.
The RCP is urging the government to commit to an open and transparent workforce plan to ensure there are enough medical staff to match demand for care in the long-term.
Andrew Goddard, RCP London president, said: "There are no two ways about it - it’s an incredibly difficult time to be working in medicine. Some things, such as embracing flexible working, will help to improve morale now, while increasing the size of the workforce will ensure that in future, staff never feel as under pressure and undervalued as they do today.
"We need a commitment from government to produce regular, independent and published assessments of future workforce requirements across the NHS and social care. This will give us much-needed long-term projections of workforce needs so that enough staff are being trained up to meet those requirements."
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