National Health Shock as axe hits clinical staff
Published: 11 April 2011
The protection of NHS frontline patient care and services was exposed as a myth today, as the Royal College of Nursing revealed shocking new evidence at its annual Congress that clinical posts now comprise more than half of NHS cuts (54 per cent).
Thousands of nurses and other clinical staff are facing the axe in coming years, despite the Coalition Government saying that NHS frontline patient services would be immune from cuts. The RCN warned that cutting frontline posts could have ‘catastrophic consequences on patient safety and care’.
Until now, English Trusts that are aiming to save £20 billion by 2015 have been reluctant to show the proportion of cuts to fall on frontline care. However, new evidence gathered by the RCN from a sample of just 21 Trusts shows nearly 10,000 posts to be cut, of which more than half (54 per cent) are frontline clinical posts.
Patients will also suffer as vital services such as Family Nurse Partnerships and access to talking therapies are closed down. Some Trusts are shutting key community services like these with the suggestion that they might start up again in the future. However, the RCN said there was a risk of services being ‘lost in transition’ and that there was minimal evidence that services would start up again.
Today’s findings will put pressure on the Government to spell out how it intends to protect patient services through a period of financial retrenchment and massive restructure. Key findings from the RCN research include:
• More than half of jobs to be cut (54 per cent) are clinical jobs including nurses, doctors and midwives
• Nursing posts account for almost half (46 per cent) of total identified workforce cuts
• Across the 21 Trusts, 12 per cent of the nursing establishment is set to be cut*
Dr Peter Carter, RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary, said:
“Clinical staff are the lifeblood of the NHS and it is haemorrhaging at an alarming rate. Many Trusts are not being transparent by admitting to the proportion of clinical jobs being lost. From our research we now know the truth – the majority of job losses are frontline clinical jobs, the jobs that matter to patients. Cutting thousands of frontline doctors and nurses could have a catastrophic impact on patient safety and care. Our figures expose the myth that frontline staff and services are protected.”
In total, the RCN’s Frontline First campaign has identified almost 40,000 NHS posts that face the axe over the next three years. While the RCN looked in detail at 21 Trusts, it said this represented just the tip of the iceberg as it was studying intelligence of cuts from 130 NHS organisations in England. Examples of Trusts that are reducing nursing and clinical workforce include:
• Country Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is undertaking a £60 million cost cutting exercise by 2014 and are losing 300 nursing posts
• Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust are proposing to reduce their nursing, midwifery and health visitor workforce by 264 between 2010-2015, a 15 per cent reduction
• Kingston Hospital NHS Trust are losing 214 nursing posts out of a total of 486 workforce cuts
Many Trusts were also shown to be cutting costs by employing a cheaper or unregulated workforce. Despite healthcare assistants playing a valuable role, in common with several recent high-profile cases, patients could suffer from losing the benefit of more experienced staff. Examples cited include:
• Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust reducing 65 specialist nurse posts (Band 6) and increasing 48 staff nurse (Band 5) posts within its neonatal specialty
• Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trusts reducing registered nurses within its learning disability services and increasing numbers of healthcare assistants
As well as the clinical frontline, whole areas of patient services are being closed or decommissioned. Many of these are services which would help keep patients out of hospital, save money and decrease the future burden on the NHS, including:
• NHS Oldham closing the Shawside Community Recovery Unit which provided intermediate care for patients discharged from hospital
• Lancashire Healthcare Foundation Trusts closed Harvey House, a residential detoxifcation and treatment unit
• Birmingham and Solihill Mental Health Foundation Trust shutting down its talking therapies programmes
• NHS Stockport closing down Family Nurse Partnerships and Community Falls Services
Dr Carter continued:
“Our research shows that patients simply aren’t getting access to the same care they did a year ago. We know that savings need to be made but cutting frontline staff and services is not the way to do it. While the NHS is in an interim phase with new structures taking place, we are seeing patient services which we fear may simply disappear forever. We are concerned that the result will be patients left in limbo, fewer services, fewer nurses and a worse NHS.”
Ends
Notes to editors
1.For further information, interviews or illustrations please contact the RCN Media Office on 0207 647 3633, press.office@rcn.org.uk or visit http://www.rcn.org.uk/newsevents/media
2. RCN Congress 2011 runs from Sunday 10 April – Thursday 14 April at the Liverpool Arena and Convention Centre. There will be a press conference to launch Congress at 2pm on Sunday 25 April. An ISDN line will be available for interviews