Women’s Prize winner Rachel Clarke issues plea to Wes Streeting as NHS doctors face unemployment
Women’s Prize winner slams ‘unbelievable’ NHS doctor unemployment
- Rachel Clarke, author and palliative care doctor, won the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction for her fourth book, ‘The Story of a Heart.’
- Clarke has urged Health Secretary Wes Streeting to address the potential unemployment of resident doctors due to a shortage of training posts, with approximately 20,000 doctors expected to miss out on specialty training this summer.
- Clarke highlighted the absurdity of doctors being unemployed or seeking alternative work like Uber shifts when the NHS desperately needs them.
- Clarke referenced a Medical Defence Union (MDU) survey revealing that over a third of working NHS doctors feel their ability to treat patients is impaired due to exhaustion from staff shortages and long hours.
- Dutch author Yael van der Wouden won the Women’s Prize for Fiction for her debut novel, ‘The Safekeep,’ which explores themes of displacement and generational trauma.