Staff burnout threatens plans for NHS, says think tank

Plans to implement seven day working and to generate £22bn (€31bn; $33bn) of efficiency savings in the NHS in England by 2020 are at risk of being derailed by staff burnout, a leading healthcare think tank has warned.

In a briefing published on Tuesday 2 June the Nuffield Trust said that the government’s ambitious targets would not be realised unless it “prioritises reconnecting with the NHS workforce and ensuring staff feel valued in their work.”1

It added that the NHS needed to reduce its reliance on agency staffing, highlighting the fact that NHS hospital and foundation trusts increased their spending on contract and agency staff by £800m …