Home / Health / Nurses Warn of Deadly Mix: Understaffing Risks Patient Safety
Nurses Warn of Deadly Mix: Understaffing Risks Patient Safety
18 May
Summary
- Over 64% of nurses believe staffing levels compromise patient safety.
- The RCN will urge ministers to implement mandatory minimum safe staffing.
- Recruitment of nurses has slowed to its lowest point in eight years.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has revealed that a significant majority of nurses, over 64%, believe current staffing levels are inadequate for safe patient care. They describe the combination of understaffing and the complex needs of an aging population as a "deadly mix" that endangers patients.
Prof Nicola Ranger, RCN's chief executive, is set to call on ministers to introduce mandatory minimum safe nurse staffing levels. She accuses the government of setting up the nursing profession to fail, highlighting that widespread vacancies are inherently unsafe.
Further concerns are raised by the slowest growth in the nursing workforce in eight years. This comes as the number of doctors in the NHS in England has increased significantly more than nurses over the past decade.
Meanwhile, NHS bosses in England have cautioned that hospitals may need to implement "deep cuts" to services due to financial constraints. This financial pressure, despite reported improvements in waiting times, risks service closures and job losses.
