Although Britain’s National Health System (NHS) has provided effective universal coverage for almost 70 years, it is facing a major health workforce crisis that jeopardizes its future. The NHS currently offers healthcare that is free at point of delivery to UK and European Union (EU) citizens, but proof of citizenship is often not even required. Funded largely with revenue from general taxation and National Insurance contributions, only 1.2% of NHS revenue comes from direct patient charges.
Fixing the Recruiting and Retention Problems in Britain’s NHS
Although Britain’s National Health System (NHS) has provided effective universal coverage for almost 70 years, it is facing a major health workforce crisis that jeopardizes its future. The NHS is increasingly struggling to recruit and retain its health workforce. Despite the years of training and long working hours, the average starting salary of a junior doctor is below the national average income. Many struggle to repay their students loans, work unpaid overtime, and ultimately decide to leave the NHS. In 2015, 48% of junior doctors in their second year of training chose to drop out of the NHS. Nearly 1% of doctors leave the NHS every month, and in the last year alone, unfilled jobs in the NHS rose by 10% and unfilled specialty training spots rose by 31%. Not surprisingly, patient wait-times have increased over the same time period. The problem is likely to get worse as the UK population ages. Potential solutions include repealing legislation that caps salary increases for doctors at 1% a year (which is below the rate of inflation) and forgiving the student loans of doctors who agree to serve in the NHS for a particular period of time.