“Exhausted and depleted” staff pose risk to quality of NHS and social care, warns CQC

The health and social care workforce is drained of resilience and capacity, from sustained pressure during the pandemic, and this will have consequences for the quality of care if it is not tackled, the Care Quality Commission has warned.

“The negative impact of working under this sustained pressure, including anxiety, stress, and burnout, cannot be underestimated,” said the CQC in its annual assessment of the state of health and social care in England.¹ “As we approach winter, the workforce who face the challenges ahead are exhausted and depleted, which has implications for the quality of care. They cannot work any harder—they need support to work differently.”

NHS staff were surrounded by serious illness and death at unprecedented levels during the pandemic, while often struggling for support and resources, the report said. Around 19% were redeployed, and 34% were working on covid-19 wards, while many took on voluntary roles on their days off, such as at vaccination centres.

Many of the problems already existing in the NHS and social care were intensified by the pandemic, including staff recruitment and retention, particularly in...