NHS ‘bureaucracy spending’ figures will be ‘galling’ for frontline healthcare staff, says BMA

Responding to the Daily Telegraph front page, based on Policy Exchange’s latest report, highlighting increased spending on NHS bureaucracy and management, BMA Council deputy chair Dr David Wrigley has said:

“At a time when we have a severely depleted and exhausted health and care workforce who have spent the last two years battling a pandemic only to now face another enormous challenge of tackling the record backlog in care left in its wake, many will feel frustrated that such a huge amount of money is being spent on bureaucracy and backroom functions, rather than reaching the front line.

“While any organisation the size of NHS England requires high-quality, accountable management, especially during a pandemic, this must provide value for money for the taxpayer and crucially must not be at the expense of funding for services and frontline staff.

“These figures will therefore be particularly galling to our colleagues as the government continues to refuse to prioritise the very people who keep health and care services running: the doctors, nurses and other health and care professionals looking after people in our hospitals and GP practices each day.

“The report notes a doubling in NHS England staff in two years – at the same time as nursing numbers only increased by seven per cent. The picture is no better for doctors, with the number of full-time equivalent hospital doctors in England increasing by just 9% between January 2020 and January 2022, while we have actually lost the equivalent of 247 full-time, fully-qualified GPs over a similar period – a fall of almost 1% – continuing a worrying trend that has long pre-dated the pandemic.

“The government says it won’t offer doctors a fair pay rise that both reflects the spiralling cost of living and corrects years of pay erosion, because it can’t afford to do so. Neither will ministers scrap damaging pension rules that drive senior doctors away from the health service early.

“But they seemingly have enough money to double what they’re spending on management and red tape.

“If the government is serious about looking after the public’s health needs, it needs to urgently reassess its priorities, with recruiting and retaining vital healthcare staff at the top of its list.”