The Anaesthetic Workforce 2024: UK State of the Nation Report (20 November 2024)

Summary

The Royal College of Anaesthetists 'Our State of the Nation 2024' report shows the dire shortage of anaesthetists is limiting the ability of the NHS to reduce patient waiting lists, as the UK lags behind the rest of Europe in anaesthetic staffing levels.  

Content

With only 14 anaesthetists per 100,000 people, the UK ranks 26th in Europe, far below comparable countries like Germany, where the equivalent figure is 37, Italy (25) and even some lower income countries like Moldova (16).  

The shortage of anaesthetists prevents around 1.4 million operations and procedures from taking place each year. The RCoA warns this figure could increase to 8.25 million unless the government invests in training more anaesthetists because most operations cannot take place without one. 

On average across the UK, the number of anaesthetists is 15% lower than needed, although there is some national and regional variation. The shortage is slightly worse in Wales (17%) than the other UK nations and within England, the shortfall is greatest in the East of England and the North-West, at 18% lower than needed.   

The report highlights there are currently thousands of doctors who want to train as anaesthetists but there are not enough training posts for them to do so. This year there were 3,520 applications for an available 540 core anaesthetic training places.   

At the same time, NHS trusts and health boards are increasingly using expensive agency locum staff to plug gaps. In 2022, there were 399 locum consultants working in NHS trusts and health boards, a much costlier option than a permanent consultant anaesthetist.  

The shortage also puts anaesthetists under increasing pressure as they struggle with additional workload, fuelling burnout and compounding the NHS retention crisis. Of anaesthetists who retired or left the profession early, 25% did so because of issues to do with mental wellbeing, burnout, or stress. And one in five anaesthetists surveyed in 2021 said they intended to leave the NHS within five years.  

The report calls for urgent intervention to fund more anaesthetic training places, both in the immediate and long term and for urgent implementation of measures to improve retention of anaesthetists currently working in the NHS.