UK Parliament Heath & Social Care Committee Inquiry

The Committee has launched a new inquiry to examine workforce burnout across the NHS and social care. It will consider increased pressures brought by Covid-19 and the resilience of services to cope with high levels of staff stress. NHS Providers has reported that 92% of trusts were concerned about burnout among their staff.

MPs are calling for evidence to assess the impacts of workforce burnout on a range of areas from service delivery to the social care sectors. They will also focus on the government’s workforce planning, including measures set out in the NHS People Plan so far, and assess the effectiveness of the Plan to deliver on staff numbers expected to be required across medical and social care professions, and those in training in order to meet future demands for patient care will also be assessed.

The absence of an equivalent workforce plan for social care and how parity with the NHS could be achieved will also be considered. A separate HSC inquiry is being carried out into social care’s funding and workforce.