IFANGlobal’s Solution to Severe Shortages in NHS and Social Care Sector in UK

The world is currently facing an acute shortage of healthcare workers. According to WHO, even before Covid-19, many countries faced this challenge, especially the lower and middle income countries. These shortages are estimated at 18 million globally by 2030.

However, the developed world stands to lose the most from this crisis. Currently, countries across the west and east Asian region are facing a demographic collapse. As the number of aged people increases, the problem of shortages becomes more pronounced.

And so, it is not surprising that one of the most developed European society is facing a severe shortage of healthcare professionals across both the National Health Service (NHS) and the social care sector.

THE CURRENT NHS SCENARIO

The workforce crisis has been described as the worst problem currently facing the NHS, and has a direct impact on the quality and safety of care for patients and service users.

According to official statistics, there are around 133,000 vacancies in the NHS as of September 2022, representing a vacancy rate of 9.7%. This is an increase from the previous year, when there were around 104,000 vacancies and a vacancy rate of 7.9%. Nursing is one of the most affected professions, with one in eight posts vacant.

The situation is even worse in adult social care, where there are an estimated 122,000 vacancies, equivalent to a vacancy rate of around 8.

As the population of the UK ages, the demand for the social care workers is only expected to rise, exacerbating the problem. Skills for Care, a digital weekly reporting on the independent Nursing and Residential Care Homes sector, have estimated that there will be a need for 650,000 to 950,000 new adult social care jobs by 2035.

Indeed, the healthcare worker shortage crisis has taken the country by storm. There are many factors which are leading to this crisis. However, keeping in mind the scope of the blog, all of them shall not be discussed here.

Many Commentators have advanced reasons for the workforce shortage crisis in the UK. Some of these reasons include lack of long-term planning by the government and NHS, EU nationals leaving the NHS after Brexit, concerns over pay and job pressure due to existing shortages.

According to Independent, a new media organisation in the UK, over 22,000 EU nationals have left since Brexit back in 2016.  

Moreover, the healthcare workforce has increasingly become frustrated with persistent issues like workload pressures leading to burnout, low pay and poor working conditions.

The latest NHS Staff Survey has shown that almost half of NHS staff have reported feeling unwell from work. A recent inquiry by the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee found that workforce burnout was widespread across both health and social care sectors.

Not surprisingly, many healthcare professionals are leaving NHS.

These shortages have an adverse effect on patients as well. According to National Library of Medicine, a higher patient to nurse ratio leads to higher morbidity and mortality rates. An increased ratio also increases the rate of readmission of patients in hospitals.

Inadequate healthcare staff also leads to reduced patient safety which leads to more falls, hospital-acquired infections and needless trauma and injuries that could have easily been prevented.

Clearly, the ramifications of workforce shortages are far reaching; institutions and governments around the world shall continue to strive towards finding sustainable solutions to this problem.  

IFANGlobal’s Innovative Approach to the Crisis

With over two decades of rich experience, IFANGlobal,a healthcare recruitment agency finds competent and credible medical professionals for healthcare institutions in the UK with zero administrative hassle on your part.

We understand that hospitals are literally engaged in life-saving work. Therefore, we shoulder the responsibility of finding the right candidates for you. So that you can focus on what matters the most.

Assisting 60,000+ healthcare professionals in their deployments across the globe, IFANGlobal has been instrumental in connecting talented professionals with employers worldwide. IFANglobal serves more than 300 medical organisations which span across 4 continents.

IFANglobal has been conducting regular recruitment drives across the globe to depute medical professionals in the UK. With its continuous efforts, IFANglobal is trying to bridge the shortage gap in the NHS. 

There are talented medical professionals in countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America. There is high competition in markets like India, Kenya, Nepal, Taiwan, Mexico and many such countries.

With IFANGlobal, you get access to these vast pools of nursing staff. We train and nurture healthcare candidates preparing them for their global career journey.

IFANGlobal ensures that only credible candidates reach your institution. 

So, if you want talented and competent medical professionals from diverse backgrounds and nationalities, then IFANGlobal is the answer you have been looking for.

Email us at info@ifanglobal.com or connect with us here.