RCN warn patient safety is at risk due to shortage of nurses
A report by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned that a shortfall of 40,000 nurses in England could result in patients missing out on vital care.
Patients could be at risk
According to recent figures, the number of nurses in the UK has risen by 4.6% over the last five years with approximately 10,000 nurses hired in that time. However, the increase in hospital nurses has been dwarfed by the increase in hospital admissions. During the same five years, hospital admissions saw an increase of 12.3% - almost three times the rate of increase for nurses – with an additional 1.5 million attending hospital last year. According to the RCN's report, around 40,000 nurse posts in NHS England are vacant.
RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary Dame Donna Kinnair said the data should act as a "stark warning that patient safety is being endangered by nursing shortages". She has called on the public in England to sign a petition encouraging the government to implement a new law to ensure safe staffing, similar to that which has already been introduced in Scotland and Wales.
“We’re calling on the public in England to fight for nurses and sign our petition calling on the Westminster government to invest in the future workforce and make clear who is accountable in law for safe patient care.
“Nurses are the single most trusted professional group in the whole country, with 96% of the public placing them at the top of a list of occupations including doctors, teachers, the police and scientists. Nursing staff are asking for your support in calling time on this crisis.”
Dame Kinnair also said she wanted a national body to ‘take on responsibility for properly planning the nursing numbers needed in the future’.
“Patients have a right to know…”
National consumer group for people who use health and social care services, Healthwatch England, said patients had a right to know whether safe staffing levels were being achieved on hospital wards. Sir Robert Francis, Healthwatch England chairman, produced a 2013 report on failings of care at Stafford Hospital, where hundreds of patients died, which found that a significant shortage of nurses was partly to blame. He said:
"Healthwatch evidence suggests the public's patience with overstretched staffing and the impact this is having on care is starting to wear thin. People have rightly come to expect compassion and empathy from health and social care staff, and they should not have to adjust this expectation because of pressures on the NHS.
"To promote patient safety, it is also important that the public understand the difference between a busy ward and one that may be unsafe. This is an important message for those in charge of planning and scheduling of staff rotas to hear."
Key priority for government
On the other hand, the government has stressed that ensuring NHS staff levels are adequate is a key priority of theirs.
There are currently several campaigns in place to increase staff retention, such as the recently announced £1000 for each nurse to spend on training, and the number of training places for nurses is to be increased by 25%. Furthermore, new roles to support nurses - called nursing associates - are also being created.
"The safety of patients is paramount" a Department of Health and Social Care spokesman added.
Gill Edwards, Partner within the Clinical Negligence team here at Potter Rees Dolan, comments:
The shortage of nurses is leading to understaffed wards with stressed staff who are trying to keep their heads above water. Staff are burnt out and the higher sickness levels only compound the staffing problem. Inevitably patient safety is compromised because signs and symptoms of deterioration in patients are missed when staff are so busy. The cause of the increase in hospital admissions also needs to be addressed. In addition to the social care crisis which leaves patients stuck in hospital for longer, I see numerous cases where significant delays in diagnosis and treatment in the community have resulted in hospital admission, more expensive treatment and longer stays in hospital.
Gill is a Partner within our Clinical Negligence team here at Potter Rees Dolan. Should you have any questions about aspects of this article or clinical negligence issues, please do not hesitate to call our expert solicitors on 0800 027 2557. Alternatively, contact Gill directly here.