A&E nurses’ fears get widespread media coverage

An RCN poll of emergency nurses released at Bournemouth during RCN Congress week has generated a great deal of media attention around the pressures that staff suffer in order to meet the four-hour operational standard.

A poll of over 500 emergency nurses found that three-quarters were regularly pressured to admit patients to the wrong wards, sometimes for as little as 30 minutes just to meet the 4 hour standard. The survey also revealed that nine out of ten nurses felt that they had been unduly pressurised by senior managers to achieve the operational standard.

The RCN wants the Government to grant staff more flexibility to give the correct care and the quality that patient’s deserve by relaxing the target to 95 per cent.

Rabina Tindale, Chair of the RCN Emergency Care Association, was widely quoted regarding patients being sent to the wrong wards, especially at peak times.