12.11.13
‘Hidden workforce crisis’ in nursing – RCN
The scale of nurse understaffing is far larger than official figures show, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned.
‘Running the red light’ says there are currently nearly 20,000 nursing vacancies, a 15% cut in the number of student places commissioned since 2010/11 and a forecast shortage of 47,000 registered nurses by 2016.
According to official figures, the NHS in England has lost only 3,859 full-time nurses, midwives and health visitors since May 2010.
Dr Peter Carter, chief executive & general secretary of the RCN said: “We sit on the verge of a hidden workforce crisis that desperately needs addressing to ensure the NHS runs properly and patients get the care they deserve.
“Unsafe staffing levels have been implicated in a number of high profile investigations into patient safety – we call on employers in the NHS to put an end to boom and bust workforce planning and develop clear standards to ensure safe staffing levels are met, supported by robust inspection based on reliable data.”
Dean Royles, chief executive of NHS Employers organisation, said: “Employers in the NHS know it’s crucial to have the right mix of staff in place to give safe, high quality patient care.
“Quality needs to be judged on the care given to patients, not just about numbers in any one staff group, as multi-professional care – which is made up of nurses, occupational therapists, dieticians and others working together – is better for patients. We need to work together with health unions to develop solutions for new models and standards of care rather than spats over the statistics.”
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