Divided loyalties could affect how NHS staff deal with pandemic flu

摘要

Reluctant doctors and nurses and violent members of the public might make delivering effective health care during an influenza pandemic challenging,delegates were told at a conference held in London this week.Changes to NHS staffing policies and an increasingly female workforce mean that many staff might have divided loyalties over staying at work,said Hilary Pickles,director of public health for Hillingdon Primary Care Trust."The NHS is more family friendly with more part-time workers and fewer staff resident on site,"she said."We are not quite sure of how people will behave when the chips are down."