Shortage of medical staff highlighted by BMA
31/03/2008(15:22)
A shortage of doctors and healthcare staff in the NHS has been highlighted by the British Medical Association (BMA) today.
The group said that junior doctors are being made to work longer hours, often unpaid, due to the staff shortfalls.
A survey by the association suggests that one in every three teams has at least one vacancy, with the recruitment system being blamed.
Some respondents said that there were up to five vacancies on their team, which the BMA has warned could lead to a drop in care quality.
Ram Moorthy, chairman of the BMA's Junior Doctors Committee, said: "This was a problem that employers and the government could and should have foreseen and it's unfair that doctors are having to prop up rotas without being paid for it."
The recruitment system dictates that trusts are allowed to recruit at one point in the year and so cannot fill vacancies which have arisen since then.
A previous online scheme had to be abandoned by the government as candidates were not getting interviews.
Click here for medical jobs at JobServe