In response to a Royal College of Physicians call for government action to solve NHS workforce shortages, the interim chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, said:

"The Royal College of Physicians' diagnosis is spot on.

"We have called on the health and social care secretary to add 'W for workforce' to her ABCD list of priorities for the NHS. More than 132,000 vacancies across trusts, an all-time high, are piling pressure on already overstretched staff.

"We're seeing worrying levels of burnout and increasing turnover. NHS staff are working flat out in acute, mental health, ambulance and community services to deliver high-quality care in the face of unprecedented demand.

"All NHS staff have been given below-inflation pay awards this year by the government, leaving them worse off in real terms. And now the soaring cost of living is sapping morale and making it even harder for the NHS to recruit and retain staff. Two in three trust leaders reported a significant or severe impact from staff leaving to work in other sectors for better pay in our recent survey.

"We've called long and loud for the government to produce a long-term, fully costed and fully funded national plan to help the NHS attract and keep the staff it so desperately needs – otherwise waiting lists will grow longer and patient care will suffer."