Investigating staff
8.1 The problems that face cancer services in this country are not due to the poor quality of the staff providing the service.
The NHS has some of the best trained, most committed staff in the world. But years of underfunding and underinvestment in the NHS mean that there are not enough of them. Staff are over-worked, run off their feet and exhausted.
8.2 The NHS Plan provides for an unparalleled expansion of the NHS workforce: more doctors, nurses, therapists, scientists and technicians that make up the NHS healthcare team by 2004. There will be more money for training and development and a better, fairer deal for staff. This unprecedented investment in the staff of the NHS and their well-being underpins the measures to expand, equip and develop the cancer workforce. This is not just about increasing numbers. Outdated demarcations between staff and inadequate investment in training and development have also hampered staff 's ability to deliver top quality care.
