NHS Employers responds to NHS England announcement on retired doctors

Responding to the NHS England announcement that retired doctors will be able to re-enter the workforce to help tackle the elective backlog Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers (part of the NHS Confederation), said: 

“The NHS has already been working hard to clear the backlogs but concerted action is needed to help it go even further. With demand so high and with 432,000 outpatient appointments having had to be cancelled or rescheduled because of the walkouts over the last six months, health leaders will welcome reinforcements in the form of retired medics re-joining the service to lend their support.

"This is on top of flexibilities that the NHS offers already around retirement and working arrangements so that vital talent can be retained. While this new initiative is needed and will help, 8% of medical posts in secondary care are currently vacant, and so wider efforts beyond this welcome initiative will be needed to address the staffing vacancies we have in the NHS.

"These wider efforts need to be set out clearly in a comprehensive workforce plan, which we are told is imminent.”