A major supplier of healthcare equipment is reportedly on the brink of collapse. It is raising serious concerns across the NHS and private healthcare sectors. The BBC recently highlighted the precarious position of this firm, which provides essential medical devices and technology used in hospitals and clinics nationwide. It is seriously worsening the NHS patient safety crisis.
Darzi concluded the NHS was in ‘critical condition’
Lord Darzi’s investigation revealed the sheer extent of the NHS’s current failings. There are some firms responsible for providing essential devices. Devices such as ventilators, diagnostic machines, and surgical tools are in short supply at hospitals and clinics across the country. With its future uncertain, healthcare providers may soon face critical shortages or delays in accessing life-saving equipment. This news raises urgent questions about the resilience of healthcare infrastructure. It also shows the potential risks to patient safety and the NHS patient safety crisis.
The report set out in stark terms that this government’s inheritance is an NHS where:
- Many cannot get a GP or dental appointment
- Waiting lists for hospital and community care have ballooned
- Staff are demoralised and demotivated
- Outcomes on major killers like cancer lag behind other countries
The choice for the NHS is obvious: reform or die.
Demographic change and population ageing are set to put yet more demand on an already stretched health service. Without change, this will threaten yet worse access and outcomes. Even more will opt out and go private if they can afford to. They will increasingly wonder why they pay so much tax for a service they do not use, eroding the principle of solidarity that has sustained the NHS. The NHS patient safety crisis will lead to a poor service for poor people.
Scotland has reported that NHS doctors are facing an unemployment crisis despite understaffing. Doctors have now told the GMC that inadequate staffing is the primary barrier to good patient care. The new workplace experiences report shows 73% of Scotland’s doctors feel inadequate staffing is negatively affecting patient care. Nearly half (46%) said they have witnessed risks to patient safety at work. It is higher than the UK average of 40%.
NHS patient safety crisis
More doctors in Scotland say they feel part of a supportive team compared to their counterparts in other parts of the UK. However, they are less likely to report feeling that they could influence change in their workplace. More than two-thirds of doctors in Scotland say delays in providing care, treatment, investigations, or screenings present a barrier to good patient care. Around 1 in 5 Scottish doctors reported considering moving to practise abroad. It is slightly less than the UK average of 27%. While fewer doctors in Scotland reported taking hard steps to leave the profession than the rest of the UK, they were on par with the UK average at 44% in terms of reducing their contracted hours.
Meanwhile, half of doctors in Scotland say they found it difficult to manage patient expectations at least once a week. Again, it is higher than the UK average due to the NHS patient safety crisis. On average, 39% of doctors said they could progress their career as they wanted, with those in radiology, psychiatry, anaesthetics, paediatrics, and intensive care more likely to feel able to progress as they wish. While, in Scotland, 37% of doctors reported feeling they could progress their career in a way they wanted.
We need GPs now more than ever.
Work-life balance and well-being are the reasons most frequently given for considering a career change. Doctors at high risk of burnout are most likely to have taken hard steps to leave. As patient needs soar, general practice is buckling under immense pressure. GPs are leaving the profession at an alarming rate. The reason is burnout, unmanageable workloads, and the pull of more attractive careers abroad. Even more concerning, many fully trained GPs remain unemployed or underemployed while communities struggle to access care.
In response, GPC UK has produced The Value of a GP. This comprehensive new report brings together a robust body of evidence to highlight the irreplaceable role of general practice in the UK. All this reflects NHS patient safety crisis.
The dire state of a health service under extreme pressure
The number of practices handing back their contracts is on the rise. A further 1 in 8 practices across Northern Ireland are at risk, due to numerous challenges, including financial issues. The situation is equally concerning across the nations. 5.5% of full-time equivalent GPs (1,570) have left the GP workforce in England since 2015, while the number of GP partners has fallen by 26% (Institute for Government 2024). Meanwhile, the patient population served by general practice has increased by 11%, resulting in record average GP to patient ratios and an average patient list size of 2,257 per full-time equivalent (FTE) GP, representing a 16.5% increase.
Since 2012, Wales has experienced a 38% increase in patients per full-time GP, alongside a 25% reduction in full-time GPs. Over the same period, more than 20% of practices, 100 in total, have closed. Similarly, Scotland has suffered a nearly 10% decline in the number of practices over the past decade.
NHS, an unfavorable Job
A 2025 BMA survey found that over half of respondents wished to work more hours within the NHS but could not find suitable opportunities, and 15% were unable to find any GP work at all. Of particular concern was the fact that 69% reported experiencing stress or anxiety due to underemployment or unemployment, with many also facing financial hardship. This paradox reveals a fundamental issue: while there are individual doctors without jobs, the overall System is so overstretched that it is unable to integrate and effectively utilise the available workforce fully.
A 2024 study further revealed that seeing a regular GP considerably reduced visits to emergency departments, with reductions estimated at 46.1% for same-day visits, 37.8% for visits within 3 days, and 32.4% for visits within 7 days. This reduction in emergency department reliance was anticipated to reduce hospital admissions by over 20%, providing much needed relief to secondary care services. This comes at a critical time, as emergency department waiting times have been rising rapidly. In England, the percentage of A&E attendances waiting more than 4 hours has increased from 8.1% in January 2013 to 42.4% in September 2023.
