Victoria Atkins today criticized an “old boys’ network” running the NHS for holding back the ailing health service.
The Health Secretary insisted that the male-dominated hierarchies imposed when the NHS was created in 1948 had “remained embedded in the system for decades to come”.
Instead, she told him The Times Health Commission It was vital to “level the playing field” and ensure that barriers holding back female staff were removed.
The Commission’s wide-ranging report, published today, concluded that harassment, sexual assault and arrogance remain common in the NHS “to the detriment of patients”.
Nearly a third of female surgeons have been sexually assaulted by a colleague in the last five years.
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins (pictured) insisted the male-dominated hierarchies imposed when the NHS was created in 1948 had “remained embedded in the system for decades to come”. Instead, she told the Times Health Commission, it was vital to “level the playing field” and ensure barriers holding back female staff were removed.
Atkins, who replaced Steve Barclay in November, said reforms must ensure the culture is respectful and dignified.
It also called on the health service to ensure NHS facilities provide free hot meals to the workforce, as a show of gratitude.
The year-long commission found that hospital staff face a poor working environment that often leaves them struggling to even make a cup of tea or eat a hot meal during their shifts.
Mrs Atkins said: ‘Why don’t we offer hot meals?
‘How can we thank members of the workforce, not just doctors, but also nurses, anesthetists and others who work all night or at the end of a long shift?
‘How can we tell them “thank you, you are really valued”? How can we help people achieve work-life balance?
He also urged hospitals to “try to find a better way to help doctors with working conditions,” especially when setting work shifts.
NHS staff have long highlighted the problems they face when trying to take annual leave.
Some have told how hospitals refused to allow doctors to take time off for their own weddings.
Others have revealed that they were told to use holiday entitlement instead of compassionate leave to attend relatives’ funerals.
Ms Atkins called for wide-ranging reforms to “ensure the culture is respectful, dignified and caring, not only towards patients but also towards colleagues”.
The commission, led by a panel of experts from across health and social care sectors, spoke to more than 600 witnesses, including senior doctors, hospital directors and politicians.
Among them were Sir John Bell of Oxford University, Sir Andrew Dilnott and Lord Rose.
Under one of the 10 recommendations proposed by the Commission, it called for every NHS patient to have a digital health account, allowing their entire medical history to be stored in one place.
By accessing them through the NHS app, patients would be able to contact doctors, request prescriptions and book appointments, all in one place.
Similar systems already exist in Spain, Singapore and Denmark.
Currently, up to one in 10 UK hospitals still operate exclusively on paper.
There are also “between 40 and 60” different types of electronic patient records, the commission said.
A poll conducted by YouGov for the commission found that 81 per cent of the public supported the “patient passport” recommendation, compared to just 10 per cent against.
Another proposal involved launching a national weekend high-intensity theater (HIT) rostering scheme once a month in 50 hospitals, to record backlogs.
This is expected to help carry out a week’s planned operations in one day.
Other recommendations include writing off student loans for doctors, nurses and midwives who remain in the NHS to improve retention, extending the sugar tax and taxing salt, and adopting an NHS-style social care service.
Some proposals could be implemented immediately, others will take longer to take effect, the commission acknowledged.
Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University and Times Health Commissioner, said: “The NHS is entering a critical period. Demographic changes and other pressures on the NHS are a serious threat to maintaining a healthy health system. comprehensive health in this country.
“We also urgently need a shift towards disease prevention, a more personalized approach to healthcare and an NHS where patients are active participants in maintaining their own health, and these things can only be achieved using data and technologies such as artificial intelligence”.