Staff in the NHS

Concerns about the well being of staff in the NHS are nothing new. Many have blamed the organisation of the NHS in the past decade, especially the purchaser-provider split, and the underfunding of the service. The white paper outlines government plans for the future of the NHS: what does it have to offer staff?

The document is long on rhetoric and short on specifics. It delineates new roles and responsibilities for several groups of staff. General practitioners and community nurses will form primary care groups and be responsible for commissioning services for local patients. Within trusts, doctors, nurses, and other senior professionals will be “much more closely involved” in designing service agreements with commissioners. The commitment to introduce more information technology will require more …