Royal College of Nursing Survey: nurses need admin support now more than ever
Published: 12 February 2009
A survey of nurses conducted by the Nursing Times has found nurses are spending more than a million hours every week on paperwork that could be done by a ward clerk.
Janet Davies, Executive Director of Nursing and Service Delivery, Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said:
"The first priority for any nurse is spending time with patients delivering high quality care. Of course there will always be other tasks that have to be done to ensure that a ward runs smoothly, but time could be saved by better use of technology, ward clerks and admin staff. This lack of admin support for nurses is a problem that goes beyond access to medical supplies.
Nurses should be free to nurse, so it is crucial that employers look into this research and make sure that their systems are as effective for patients as they can be.”