The health service was rightly a priority issue for voters during the election campaign and the new government now has a huge task on its hands. The secretary of state risks being buried by an avalanche of urgent business, but attending to a demoralised workforce in primary and secondary care is essential if he is to secure the future of the NHS.

There's an element of deja vu about this. The last time that Labour swept to victory with such a thumping mandate was in 1997, when the health service also seemed to be in a parlous state.

According to a review by The Kings Fund in 2010, "more than 1 million people [were] waiting for hospital treatment, and waits of up to 18 months for treatment following an initial hospital consultation were still common." Then, as now, the annual British Social Attitudes Survey showed a larger percentage of the population were dissatisfied with the NHS than satisfied.

While the Kings Fund's assessment was that the government had largely been able to turn things around, the challenge today is greater. This is partly down to financial constraints, but it's also the case that the working conditions of doctors and other healthcare professionals have changed immeasurably since 1997 - and not for the better.

Sadly, the issues doctors have faced since then are still being raised today, as echoed by the GMC in its report, The state of medical education and practice in the UK: workplace experiences 2024. In this, the regulator states that, "After successive years of declining wellbeing indicators, the vicious cycle of workload pressures, low satisfaction, risk of burnout, and desire to leave UK practice or reduce working hours has not improved."

Then and now

When I was working in training posts in Wessex, I remember the difficulties and the long hours on duty. But I wasn't left alone to deal with an impossible workload during shifts. I was surrounded by supportive colleagues within my firm which helped balance out the work and immediate access to senior advice when faced with a situation I hadn’t encountered before.

There was hot food available from the hospital canteen through the night and rest facilities while working nights (with a reasonable expectation of at least a few hours' sleep when on call overnight). And I had accommodation on site, so there were no long commutes back home after an exhausting shift.

By contrast, today's resident doctors are often set up to fail. Left isolated by poorly designed rotas and staff shortages, fewer opportunities to work alongside regular team colleagues and gain experience from doing so and at the mercy of a machine that can arbitrarily allocate them to training posts miles away from home. Also, talking of machines: for the vast majority, the only onsite catering option when working nights is an overpriced, privately-run vending machine.

Similarly, overworked GPs have been left feeling abandoned by decision-makers, expected to maintain a safe service for patients without the resources to employ necessary staff to cope with an ever-increasing workload.

It's no wonder that the GMC's latest National Training Survey found that "across the UK, two thirds [of trainees] are now at high or moderate risk of burnout, the highest level since we started tracking this in 2018."

Nor that further research commissioned by the GMC showed that 30% of doctors practising in the UK were very or fairly likely to move abroad in the next twelve months, with over 75% of these reporting that they felt undervalued professionally.

More than money

Wes Streeting was commendably quick to negotiate a new pay deal for resident doctors and has promised more funding to rescue general practice. But restoring the morale of embattled doctors and addressing the issue of retention is not just about money.

In a survey of MDU members before the election, 94% of respondents wanted manifestos to include plans to support the health and wellbeing of the NHS workforce. Tackling waiting times and access to NHS treatment was their top priority, followed by better workplace facilities, mental health support, GMC reform, action on abusive and threatening behaviour and clinical negligence reform.

If there is reason for optimism, it lies in the can-do spirit of most doctors, who chose their profession to make a positive difference to people's health. Some have stood for election, with another ten doctors winning their seats in 2024.

Others have sought to improve healthcare as policy advisers (in another echo of the past, Lord Darzi has just been appointed to lead an investigation into NHS performance), leaders and innovators in fields such as medical technology, patient safety, research and equipment design.

Awards and acknowledgement

In this context, it's particularly important for politicians to recognise the contribution of doctors and other healthcare professionals, which is why the MDU is proud to support this year's NHS Parliamentary awards. These provide an opportunity for MPs to discover and nominate examples of excellence and innovation in their own constituencies, with the winners being announced a ceremony in October.

The ten categories include the Future NHS award, sponsored by the MDU. This category highlights a "person or team that has successfully trialled and embedded change to make better use of data and digital technology, provide more convenient access to services and information for patients and improve support for staff."

As a 'doctors for doctors' organisation, we're committed to our members' future, and to the future of the workforce as a whole. Forward-looking and focused doctors - such as those nominated for this award - will surely be critical to the future of the NHS, and it's a privilege to help recognise their contribution.

We're also committed to supporting members when they're being treated unfairly, whether by the government, their employers, regulators or a legal system that unnecessarily diverts money away from frontline care. We will continue to speak out on medico-legal injustices when they affect doctors' ability to look after patients and professional morale.

Of course, we recognise what the NHS has been subjected to over recent years, and we are realistic about the time it will take to address the inequities that exist across the service and impede progress. But there are things the government can do right now to give itself the best chance of success, and that starts with bringing doctors in from the cold.