NHS staff shortages will be reviewed by Essex County Council.

Plans for Home First care with patients treated at home rather than hospitals have been delayed because there are not enough staff.

Stephen Robinson, Lib Dem spokesman for health at County Hall, has asked the health overview committee to collect data from NHS providers to understand shortages and find solutions.

He said: “Nurses are leaving the profession faster than they are joining, and all our NHS staff are put under completely ridiculous pressures once in post. It is essential the committee gets the facts and figures on the scale of the crisis in Essex. For many years the Government has failed to train enough doctors and nurses and now we are seeing the results of that failure.”

Essex has more elderly people having hip fractures than the average for Britain, and Essex County Council has set up a review group to look at causes and reduction.

A report from the group was discussed last week and a plan for future investigation was endorsed. The committee agreed mental health, general public health and the ambulance service would be other topics