This analysis revealed how early careers clinical staff in the NHS have become more stressed and unhappy over the past decade, with over half of young workers now made ill through workplace stress.
The researchers found that from 2013-2023:
- Stress levels in staff aged 21-30 have risen by 14 percentage points – with more than half (52%) in 2023 saying they were made unwell through work-related stress over the previous year, compared to 38% in 2013. Meanwhile, the proportion of workers aged 51-65 reporting being made ill through work stress has gone down over the same period (from 43% to 40%).
- The number of staff aged 21-30 who are unhappy with their pay has more than doubled, from 10% to 22%, compared to a 1% increase among staff aged 51-65 (rising from 11% to 12%).
- Staff aged 21-30 are enjoying their work less, with 15% not looking forward to their jobs in 2023, compared to 12% in 2013 – while the proportion of workers aged 51-65 who say they “rarely or never look forward to work” has fallen (from 13% to 10%).
- The proportion of staff aged 21-30 who do not feel enthusiastic about work has grown from 4% to 7% but remained unchanged (at 6%) for those aged 51-65.
RCPCH is calling on the UK Government and senior NHS England stakeholders, both through the 10 Year Health Plan and elsewhere, to take action to secure a sustainable paediatric and child health workforce both now and into the future.
RCPCH Officer for Workforce Planning, Dr Kay Tyerman, said:
This analysis from Nuffield Trust provides a deeply concerning insight into the experiences of specific cohorts of NHS staff, especially younger age groups. We know that the overall wellbeing and morale of the paediatric workforce is low, across all age cohorts, but particularly among those earlier on in their career, with nearly 20% of paediatric trainees at high risk of burnout and reporting the third heaviest workload of all specialties.
A recent RCPCH survey found there was a persistent shortfall of an average of 20% resident paediatric doctors on shifts. Operating with such a deficit within the acute on-call workforce is not only dangerous for children and young people but places an immense strain on the existing workforce. This comes at a time when children’s health services are experiencing unprecedented level of demand and a notable decline in health outcomes for children.
In order to adequately provide for our children, we must also adequately provide for the workforce that serves them. We need a strategy for the child health workforce with a clear focus on retention, recruitment and training of paediatricians. Time to supervise and support our resident doctors needs be factored into all Consultant and SAS job plans. These job plans also need to be adaptable throughout the different stages of a paediatrician’s career to support retention of expertise within the workforce. We must focus much more heavily on how we can improve working conditions and mental health and wellbeing support for everyone in the paediatric workforce.