The new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Healthcare Workers held its inaugural meeting yesterday in Parliament. The group, organised by the Medical Defence Union (MDU), has been established to highlight key areas of concern for healthcare professionals and discuss potential solutions.
This includes issues such as improving the health and wellbeing of staff and regulatory reform. The group will also aim to promote dialogue and discussion between the healthcare sector and parliamentarians.
The new APPG is comprised of over 30 MPs and Peers from across nine political parties. This includes the elected officers of the group which comprise of Chair Cat Eccles, Labour MP for Stourbridge and Officers, Dr Peter Prinsley, Labour MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, Robin Swann, Ulster Unionist Party MP for South Antrim and Conservative Peer Lord McColl of Dulwich CBE.
The launch of the APPG for Healthcare Workers follows recent research conducted by the MDU which found that nearly 90% of respondents felt sleep deprived at work, which is a 20% increase compared to a survey carried out three years ago (January 2022) when 75% of doctors felt sleep deprived at work. Of those, 41% now experienced sleep deprivation on at least a weekly basis, compared to 37% in 2022.
Additionally, the MDU as part of its Agenda for Change policy paper, has called on the government and NHS employers to introduce measures needed to support the health and wellbeing of the NHS workforce including the need to continue funding support services like NHS Practitioner Health for those experiencing burnout.
Tom Reynolds, Director of Policy and Communications at the MDU said:
“It is vital that healthcare professionals have their voices heard loud and clear in Westminster. The MDU is proud to have worked with parliamentarians to establish this group. We want it to provide a forum for collaboration across parliament, and across the healthcare sector – so we can come together to deliver positive change for the millions of dedicated healthcare professionals working across the UK. From reform of healthcare professional regulation; to action on clinical negligence costs, to improving the health and wellbeing of the workforce.
“The MDU looks forward to the APPG becoming a forum that will drive these and other agendas forward.”
APPG Chair Cat Eccles, Labour MP for Stourbridge commented: “I’m delighted to be Chairing the new All Party Parliamentary Group on Healthcare Workers. The NHS is made up of healthcare professionals who care for patients' day in day out and do their best for them, often against all the odds. That is why it is so important that politicians, from all political parties, come together to support the health and wellbeing of the NHS workforce.”
