Analysis: Why the NHS can’t build a successful system on staff goodwill alone
- Posted on March 19, 2026
- By The Independent
- 3 Views
Analysis: Why the NHS can’t build a successful system on staff goodwill alone

During the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in 200,000 deaths, the UK’s healthcare system came “close to collapse”. As the inquiry chair warns ministers that there may not be a workforce “willing or able to” get the NHS through another pandemic, experts tells Rebecca Thomas while so many staff are on the brink of burnout