A new report from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has highlighted a ‘serious shortfall’ in the paediatric workforce which is putting increasing pressure on an already stretched service.
The RCPCH Report “The State of Child Health: The Paediatric Workforce” is based on data from the RCPCH Workforce Census 2015, with additional data from the Office of National Statistics, and RCPCH trainee recruitment processes.
It shows that demand for children’s healthcare is increasing, with the number of hospital admissions for children in England rising by 25% between 2013/14 and 2015/16, from 1.2million to 1.5million and attendances by children at accident and emergency departments growing by 7%, from 4.5 million to 4.8 million over the same period.
The report reveals that in the year to September 2015, shortages of nurses and/or doctors led to periods of closure to new admissions by 31% of paediatric inpatient units and 41% of neonatal units across the UK.
It highlights substantial vacancies at both consultant and trainee levels, the low number of academic consultants and that general practitioners and practice nurses have limited training in child health:
• There are currently an estimated 241 whole time equivalent (WTE) career grade vacancies (i.e consultant level paediatricians).
• At least 752 WTE extra consultants are required to meet the RCPCH Facing the Future, and specialist services standards.
• General paediatric and neonatal rotas are currently having to cope with an average vacancy rate of 14%.
• A 15% increase (from 2016) in the number of trainees entering paediatrics to 465 in each training year is required to meet RCPCH “Facing the Future” standards to ensure appropriate growth in consultant numbers.
• Academics represent 4.2% (168 of 3996) of the consultant-level workforce compared with 8.7% (191 of 2186) in 2001.
Professor Neena Modi, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “The facts speak for themselves: the situation is serious. There simply aren’t enough doctors to meet the needs of infants, children and young people, and advance their healthcare through clinical research. It’s a credit to the existing workforce that that they are - just - managing to continue to deliver the care children need. This is a dangerously under resourced service, yet the means to redress the situation exist. It is legitimate for us, and the UK public, to ask why, when solutions exist, the health and wellbeing of children are being placed in jeopardy?
“The increase in the average hours of clinical duty worked by the consultant level workforce shows that recent “reconfigurations” have not reduced the strain on services, nor proven sufficient to maintain standards.
“In this run-up to the election we ask for a clear commitment to put in place the straightforward actions that will redress this appalling situation.
“Our report highlights the many serious difficulties that risk medicine becoming a less sought-after profession and are compromising patient care, the health of the population, and the reputation of the UK as a global leader in clinical practice, applied research, and innovation. Urgent action can address these problems; we call on whoever forms the next Government to make this a top priority.”
