BTS response to the Health and Social Care Committee Workforce Report

The British Thoracic Society (BTS) has responded to the Health and Social Care Committee’s 'Workforce Report: Recruitment, Training, and Retention in Health and Social Care.'

Commenting on the report, Dr Paul Walker, Chair of the BTS Board of Trustees, said:

"BTS contributed to and supports the findings of the Health and Social Care Committee’s Workforce report, which has brought into sharp relief the major staff shortfall faced by the NHS. The report highlights a burnt-out and overstretched workforce whose dwindling numbers are unable to meet the growing demands of our complex health service.

"These findings are echoed by the 2022 BTS report ‘A Respiratory Workforce for the Future’, which quantified the number of staff needed across all respiratory professions, to ensure the delivery of effective and sustainable respiratory services. The BTS report also detailed high numbers of vacancies in many areas and the increased number of staff due to retire in the coming years – pressing issues that must be addressed.

"BTS believes that high-quality care, in all its forms, cannot be delivered without appropriate staffing. As a specialty already focused on multi-professional working, we are calling for an urgent change in the way national workforce planning is approached. Future planning should focus on utilising skills across teams, foster professional collaboration and be underpinned by realistic and sustainable funding. This must start now to prevent long-term harm to healthcare staff and the patients they serve."