Collaborative Post
It is not unknown that doctors and nursing professionals are becoming a lot scarcer and the effects of this are incredibly detrimental to all health care practices including clinics, hospitals, nursing homes and to anyone that would be a potential patient. Besides the fact that there are fewer new doctors and nurses than needed, there is another problem. The working environment and lifestyles of these doctors and nurses working immensely long and odd hour shifts makes the work so much more draining and stressful. This leads to professionals burning out which has increased the turnover rate which clinics, nursing homes, and hospitals can simply not afford. A particular concern, as the population is aging and more elderly, is the fact that more care is required but there is a significant shortage of doctors in nursing homes.
This shortage of doctors and nursing staff is only on the rise and expected to grow exponentially by the year 2030 which will severely limit the access to care patients receive. A study showed that the US could see itself with a physician shortage of over 104900 by 2030. With the ever-growing aging population and the fact that more than 80 percent of adults over 65 suffer from one chronic condition as a minimum, while another 65 percent suffer from two shows an immense demand for healthcare. The aging population means that the number of adults that need medical care is going to continue to rise and already doctors and nurses are feeling the pressure.
If we continue to experience these staff shortages of doctors and nurses, we will see an even bigger increase in negative consequences. As well as it meaning it will be harder for new patients to be admitted, patients already being looked after at these nursing homes or hospitals will experience even longer periods where they are not receiving the care they need. As an elderly patient in a nursing home, time is crucial – it doesn’t take long for a problem to start spiraling and become much more serious, for example, a simple bed sore not looked after can develop into sepsis. As elderly patients cannot sometimes communicate due to fatigue and decline in cognitive abilities, it requires doctors and nurses to be that much more vigilant with their check-ups. However, if they simply are spread too thin and do not have the time to do the proper check-ups then we are inevitably going to see an even bigger rise in mortality rates and injuries in any healthcare practice.
It affects all of us and it puts pressure on lots of local services. The knock-on effect is quite scary really x
It certainly affects all of us. Thank you for sharing.
Unfortunately this is a real problem and it is for sure not at it’s peak point, it will continue to deepen because of Brexit. The barriers that the Government wants to put to EU workers coming to the UK will directly impact the medical system, as we all know that so many doctors in the UK are foreign.
I didn’t realise there was a general shortage of doctors although I have heard that Wales is struggling. I dated a guy who was training to become a GP and he was told he would receive a bonus if he took up a job in rural North Wales.
I used to work for the NHS and I think more needs to be done to support our junior doctors and nurses. It’s a real problem, and the pressure put on NHS staff is overwhelming.
Unfortunately this is a big problem which effects us all. Sadly I think it’s only going to get worse. I admire those who work in this profession as it is such a hard job.
I get so frustrated not being able to get appointments at our local GP. Fingers crossed the NHS will start getting the funding it so desperately needs
Gosh, that increase in the mortality rate in nursing home residents is absolutely shocking. This is definitely an area that needs addressing asap. Mich x
I didn’t realise there was a shortage of doctors however we do struggle to get an appointment at our local GP. It can be days.
This is a big problem and unfortunately it’s not going to get any better. The government needs to start putting money into the NHS
Sadly this problem has been brewing for a good 15 years. Have seen it first hand during my career, and the way that services are managed only make it worse.
I really feel strongly about this and I think all doctors and nurses should be paid more for hat they do.