Staff numbers fell at West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust during coronavirus peak

The number of doctors, nurses and other medical staff employed at the West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust shrank in April during the first peak of the coronavirus crisis, new figures show.

NHS workforce figures show there were 2,777 qualified medical staff – a group which includes doctors and nurses as well as therapeutic or technical staff – employed at the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust in April, 10 fewer than during March.

But across England, the figures show there were 12,839 extra members of NHS staff in April, of whom 3,008 were professionally qualified clinical staff such as doctors and nurses.

That is compared to a rise of just 3,265 between March and April last year – although the increase then was entirely in non-clinical roles.

While the Government has praised the contribution made by new and returning healthcare workers across England during the pandemic, experts say action is needed to address recruitment concerns long term.

Among the recruits in April were 1,151 new Foundation Year 1 doctors, who are junior doctors just graduated from medical school.

Many final-year medical students were fast-tracked into employment to help fight the virus.

There were also 8,687 new support workers assisting doctors and nurses. Almost 90 per cent of the 4,878 fast-tracked student doctors and nurses captured in the employment figures were recorded in this group.

Dr Rob Harwood, chair of the British Medical Association consultants committee, said doctors had been working "tirelessly on the front line" in unprecedented circumstances during the pandemic.

He said: "This includes those at both the very beginning and ends of their medical careers, with medical students volunteering in support roles, junior doctors fast-tracking their qualification and retired doctors returning.

“However, the last few months have taken their toll on doctors, who have worked long hours often in unfamiliar settings, leaving many exhausted and burned out."

With 8,000 doctor vacancies in hospitals across England, Dr Harwood said the wellbeing, protection and working conditions of the workforce must now be an "absolute priority".

Health think tank the Nuffield Trust said many of the additional staff recruited through the student route would have been expected to join the NHS in the autumn anyway.

The group has warned the NHS faces problems with retention, overseas recruitment, and sickness absences due to stress or burnout in the wake of the crisis.

Dr Billy Palmer, a senior fellow at the think tank, said: "What is crucial now is that we persuade these new staff to stay by giving them good prospects and a positive environment.

"We can't let a wave of people coming in turn into a wave of people leaving in a few years' time."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said there were also 442 former healthcare professionals who "bravely volunteered to return to the frontline" captured in the statistics.

Not all returners will have been included in the figures as they may have been employed on temporary or honorary contracts, she added.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "This pandemic has shown how proud the entire country is of all our brave health and care workers, and what an essential role they play in society.

"We made the commitment of 50,000 more nurses by end of this Parliament, and I’m determined we will meet it."