RCN comment on CQC report

Published: 13 October 2011

Responding to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) report into dignity and nutrition for older people, Royal College of Nursing Executive Director of Nursing and Service Delivery Janet Davies said:

“There are some deeply troubling, indeed shocking examples of poor care in the CQC reports, which demand urgent and sustained action to improve care for vulnerable patients.  Every nurse is personally accountable for their own practice and must act promptly to raise concerns if staffing levels or other pressures are getting in the way of delivering good care.  Each trust board and chief executive must take responsibility too.  Decisions about the numbers of staff employed, the availability of senior, experienced clinical nurses and the whole ethos of the hospital are not issues that can be delegated.
 
“Some of this goes beyond nursing, and is related to the overall attitude of society towards older people and their needs and dignity. It must be recognised that as a nation, the population is getting older and our attitudes have to recognise and embrace this. Nurses can and should be leaders in developing the right attitudes and ensuring that all older people are treated with respect and kindness both in healthcare and in the rest of their lives.”
 
The RCN believes that there are many solutions available which would help to address these examples of completely unacceptable care and prevent them becoming entrenched.  All those in a position to act must do so.
 
For its part, the RCN will:
 
•         Continue to develop and disseminate guidance on quality nursing care.  The RCN’s principles of nursing practice, which were developed in partnership with patients, set out what patients and the public can and should expect from nurses.  They have been accepted by all four UK health departments and now need to be taken up by trust boards as part of a rigorous quality framework
•         Continue to lobby for better support for ward sisters and charge nurses.  Ward sisters are the linch pin of the hospital environment but their work is so pressurised that they find it difficult to give enough time to training and supervising less experienced staff
•         Continue to press for training and regulation for health care assistants
•         Showcase excellence in nursing and in nursing education and shine a light on those universities and trusts which are preparing nursing students well for their chosen profession and supporting them properly as newly qualified practitioners
•         Redouble its efforts to encourage nurses to use RCN resources on nutrition and on dignity, both of which provide practical help to raise standards in these fundamental aspects of nursing care
•         Resist dangerous cost-cutting exercises by trusts which are placing patient safety at risk by replacing experienced clinical staff by more junior nurses and health care assistants.
 
Ends

Notes for Editors

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The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interest of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations