Plans to encourage retired GPs to return to work and bolster the NHS workforce as UK coronavirus cases rise are ‘ill-thought out’ and could put them at risk, doctors’ leaders have warned.
Health and social care secretary Matt Hancock has said the government is considering measures to ramp up the UK’s response to COVID-19 to ‘relieve the pressure on the NHS’ and protect the public.
The plans include looking at emergency registration and indemnity cover for retired health professionals to avoid a potential staffing crisis if large numbers of doctors are forced to self-isolate.
Law and policy lead at the Doctor’s Association UK (DAUK) Dr Jenny Vaughan said: ‘Plans to enlist retired doctors in the case of a coronavirus outbreak seem ill-thought out; not least because the virus has a higher mortality in older persons. Many doctors have been forced to retire early due to an equally ill-thought out pensions tax.’
Excerpt from GP Online read the full article here
