The RCP has responded to NHS Confederation's report warning that there is a risk that thousands of NHS staff will leave unless they are given the time and space to recover from the pandemic.
Commenting on the report's findings, Dr Sarah Clarke, Royal College of Physicians clinical vice president, said:
"The past 12 months have been some of the hardest many of us have ever faced in our careers. Scheduled time off when the worst of the pandemic is over will give staff the strength to face the next challenge of tackling the immense backlog of non-COVID-19 care and may stop the NHS losing staff at this critical time.
“It is vital, however, to accept that we need to grow the NHS workforce, including by increasing medical school places so we have enough doctors for the future. We mustn’t forget we went into the pandemic already carrying too many vacancies. The RCP has published a fully costed blueprint for expansion but we now need the government to make its own recommendations.