Long Term Plan fails to deliver for current staff

A new survey has claimed that less than one in ten people believe the government’s NHS Long Term Plan offers enough support to existing staff.

The poll of 3,300 people, conducted by Wesleyan, follows the government’s recent announcement on how it intends to manage and improve the NHS through the NHS Long Term Plan, backed by the Summer’s £20.5 billion funding boost.

However, the survey found that 61 per cent of people do not believe the government’s plan offers enough support to existing staff, with a further 10 per cent unsure and 21 per cent saying it is too early to say whether the plan does enough for those already working within the NHS. This means that only eight per cent believe the plan offers enough support to staff, with some respondents claiming the plan lacks ‘credibility’.

Vicki Wentworth, chief customer officer at Wesleyan, said: “Many NHS staff expected and hoped that this long-awaited plan would provide the answers to some of the issues and challenges their sector faces, including staff shortages, long working hours and underfunding.
 
“But as our survey suggests, the public already think that this long-term plan is missing key details on how it intends to support existing NHS staff. Those working in the sector and the public will be looking forward to finding out more on how this will be achieved when the Workforce Management Plan is launched later this year.”