One in five healthcare workers could quit after pandemic, IPPR warns

A poll of almost 1,000 UK healthcare professionals has revealed that Covid-19 has made more than one in five healthcare workers more likely to leave their role after the pandemic. In the NHS in England this would be the equivalent of losing 300,000 vital workers.

The IPPR/YouGov poll reveals that healthcare professionals have significant and diverse needs, that are not being supported properly during the Covid-19 crisis.

It found that half of healthcare workers said their mental health had deteriorated since the Covid-19 crisis began. Mental health impact was greatest on younger workers (aged 18 to 34) – where as many as 71 per cent said their mental health had got worse.

As many as one in three reported that their physical health has got worse since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis. Half of healthcare workers said the government had not done enough to protect their families’ health.

Of those aged 35 to 44 – the age group most likely to have children – 34 per cent said childcare had become a problem.

One third of those working in private sector roles in the health service – for example agency workers and subcontractors – said that they had lost job security during the Covid-19 crisis.

Women were more likely to have experienced detrimental impacts on their life during Covid-19 (89 per cent) compared to men (83 per cent). Impacts were also sometimes higher in London, where the crisis is more advanced.

The IPPR says this demonstrates that the government must do much more to help hardworking health professionals cope at this time of unprecedented stress, according to IPPR. 

The polling informs a new IPPR report Care Fit For Carers – which proposes a comprehensive support package for frontline ‘heroes of the coronavirus’, with the same ambition as the post-World War 1 drive to deliver ‘homes fit for heroes’.

The government has frequently used war analogies to communicate the struggle against Covid-19. Now, just as after World War 1 there was the ‘homes fit for heroes’ drive and after World War 2 the establishment of the ‘cradle to grave’ National Health Service, the report argues the government must deliver ‘Care fit for Carers’.

This would provide all frontline professionals with the support they need now and ensure a fair deal to recognise their heroic contribution once the crisis is over. IPPR calls for five key guarantees for carers, such as the government doing everything in its power to ensure PPE supply to health and social care workers through this crisis.