Almost half (45%) of NHS professionals do not think the NHS is sufficiently staffed for them to do their jobs properly, according to the annual National Health Service staff survey for the Care Quality Commission.

Tom Hadley, director of external relations at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, says: “NHS staff are clearly concerned over current staffing levels. Unmanageable workloads create a downward spiral of increased stress and absence rates which add to the resourcing challenge. NHS Trusts need to urgently review the allocation of staff and call on extra resource from agency and locum staff to fill gaps where necessary and ensure front line care needs are met.”