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Shortages leading to patients being let down say consultants
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| Care issue: fears raised over shortages |
The BMA has claimed that nine out of 10 NHS consultants feel that they are letting their patients down because of a shortage of time or resources.
In a report published on Wednesday, 87 per cent of consultants complained they have been thwarted in their efforts to make change happen, while 85 per cent say they need more time to look after patients properly.The report, "Pioneers in patient care: consultants leading change", also found two thirds of consultants felt new money had not reached their hospital unit, and that 65 per cent warned that new NHS modernisation cash had so far failed to make an impact. The report also attacks the myth that consultants are resistant to change and cling to outdated practices.
Dr Peter Hawker, the chairman of the British Medical Association's consultants' committee, said: "Achieving change in the NHS can be a slow and weary process. It worries me that nearly two thirds of my colleagues have not yet felt the effects of increased NHS funding. We need to find ways of speeding the flow of money through to the front line where consultants are willing and anxious to make change happen."
The Department of Health agreed that its spending on the NHS should be reaching the frontline of the health service.
"We agree that the record investment - £53.5 billion in England next year - going into NHS should be reaching the frontline of the health service. This is part of our commitment to decentralising power from Whitehall to the doctors and nurses who are best placed to make decisions about treatment for their own patients."
It added, "Only yesterday we announced a £110 million fund which will give consultants and nurses a say on new equipment for and improvements to the hospitals they work in."Despite the pressures of the job, the report also found that despite the pressures of the profession, 85 per cent of consultants polled would still recommend medicine as a career.
The report profiled 81 consultants from a range of hospital and community specialities all over the UK.
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