A lack of staff is becoming an ever growing problem for the care and transport sectors, latest figures from statistics agency CBS show.

The number of vacancies in the care sector care has tripled in three years, with 67,000 posts unfilled In the third quarter of this year. Nurses and home care workers account for 22,000 of the vacancies.

Another 56,000 new vacancies have appeared across the whole care sector in the third quarter, the CBS said. ‘That means we have too little capacity to deliver the care that is needed,’ professor of hospital care organisation Bart Nerden told the AD.

‘We are short of young doctors and assistants but we are also struggling to find people to work in IT and administration,’ he said.

Van Berden said the lack of IT support could impact on the introduction of long distance care, which is one way of keeping staff costs in check. Hospitals are also struggling to break even because of rising energy costs, he said. A ‘way out of the swamp’ is to assess where care is truly needed,’ he told the paper.

Transport

CBS figures for the transport sector show that the lack of staff is increasing, with 22,000 unfilled posts in the third quarter, the highest number since 1997. The sector needs train and bus drivers, delivery drivers and admin staff, the CBS said.

Despite the lack of drivers, the transport sector has seen its turnover grow across the board although the CBS said profits were smaller probably because of higher petrol costs.