Call for clinical leadership in specialty to meet
23 June 2022 (Last updated: 23 Jun 2022 16:13)
Speaking at the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS) President Rob Bentley’s Annual Scientific Meeting, Sir Bob Kerslake called on the specialty to take on clinical leadership and engage widely in the debate to secure the future for the NHS.
He said that so much had happened in these last two years, and that covid had had a profound impact on every aspect of our lives: “It’s not an exaggeration to say the world has been turned upside down by the pandemic, and now we face two equally great challenges – the war in Ukraine and the rising cost of living.”
He admitted the NHS faced its own distinctive challenges that had to be addressed if it is to survive and prosper. A chance meeting with a doctor outside King’s one day clearly illustrated this. The doctor told Lord Kerslake that he had no idea what went on across the hospital because he focused solely on his team: “However brilliant you are in the work that you do in BAOMS – and I think you are brilliant – this can only be sustained if the NHS as a whole does well.”
This is the challenge that Lord Kerslake threw out to the over 500 BAOMS members, before he listed what he believes are the six “big challenges……that are interrelated and mutually independent”.
Service, workforce, finance, digital, organisation and public health are the challenges that need to be tackled together “if we are to succeed”, Lord Kerslake said. Arguably, the single biggest cause of the service challenge is my second big challenge, the workforce challenge.”
He believes that the fatigue caused by the relentless pressure of work under covid, and the impact of cost-of-living rises cannot be ignored and need recognition. “I think the government will come to regret its rejection” of the need for an independent body to scrutinise put forward in the Health and Social Care Bill NHS workforce plans, he added.
The financial challenge to the NHS has been one of funding feast and famine, he explained from his experience working in government, and the cost of increased staffing will add to the financial pressures facing the service. The growing ageing population with the consequent medical costs is a further burden.
He says that government has denied the problem, and the £39bn added to the National NHS Care budget over three years from 2021, together with the national insurance contributions increase, would not ensure funding for social care “in my personal view……it will not happen”.
In addition, he said, a culture shift is needed among staff to embrace new digital models of care.
The public health challenge is a growing concern that while life expectancy is increasing, health inequalities are widening. Lord Kerslake highlighted the “pathetically low and (is) falling” spending on public health. He indicated that there is the potential for the new integrated Care Systems to provide an opportunity for the NHS to work with local authorities to improve public health.
But he wondered if “we are even close to the scale of change that will be needed?”
He believes his six challenges are daunting and “easier to describe them than to describe clearly the way through them”.
Lord Kerslake ended his presentation with a challenge for the specialty: “To survive and prosper will require a collective effort…..You in this room will have to actively engage in the future of the NHS well beyond your specialisms.”
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