NHS frontline staff forced to ‘plug gaps that should be filled by managers’
Frontline NHS staff are being forced to fill gaps in services that should be filled by skilled managers and administrative staff, according to a new report.
Despite the widespread perception that the health service is besieged by a high-profile structure, new research by the King’s Fund suggests that the number of NHS managers per staff member is now at “near record” levels.
There are now 33 staff per manager, compared to 27 in 2010, according to analysis of NHS hospital and community data.
“The narrative that there are too many managers does not hold up to reality,” said Suzie Bailey, director of leadership and organizational development at the King’s Fund.
He said qualified clinical professionals are forced to spend hours each week “tracking paperwork, managing routes or navigating broken administrative systems.”
The analysis found a 37 per cent increase in the number of NHS staff from 2010 (975,298) to 2025 (1,334,011). However, the number of managers increased by only 12 percent over the same period, from 35,696 to 40,021.
“It is no surprise that burnout rates are so high and staff satisfaction is so low as clinical staff grow beyond their roles, filling administrative vacancies on top of their already excessive workload,” he said.
Ms Bailey suggested that “rather than denigrating managers” what was needed was “investment and support” and a clear commitment to the professionalisation of leadership in the workplace.
He added that high-quality management and effective management are “vital to the patient experience” and that this is becoming more difficult as managers are “increasingly scarce”.
“What we are seeing is a lack of proper operational support structures that leaves clinicians filling gaps in the system that should be filled by skilled administrative and administrative staff,” he continued.
“The government must value NHS managers and the vital role they play in enabling frontline staff to focus on patient care rather than being busy with paperwork.”
Health secretary Wes Streeting will address NHS leaders at the NHS Providers conference in Manchester this week, after vowing to tackle “failing” managers by rejecting pay rises last year.
It comes as the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Urgent Care found 19 per cent (one in five) of hospital patients were treated in corridors.
Dr. President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, who compiled the research for the report. Ian Higginson said corridor maintenance was a “national embarrassment”, adding: “It’s sad, it’s dishonorable and it puts lives at risk.”
A Department of Health spokesman said it was important to have “talented managers in the right roles”.
“We are reforming the NHS to fit it for the future, to increase productivity and redirect resources back to the frontline – attracting, supporting and developing the best talent,” he said in a statement.
“Introducing NHS league tables will also raise standards, with top-performing trusts rewarded with more freedom and investment and underperforming trusts receiving targeted support.”
