RCN comments on staffing levels research
Published: 24 January 2013
For immediate release – Tuesday 22 January 2012
RCN comments on staffing levels research
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) today commented on a new analysis published in the International Journal of Nursing Studies, which showed a significant association between nurse staffing levels and the failure to rescue a deteriorating patient.
Royal College of Nursing Chief Executive & General Secretary, Dr Peter Carter, said:
“The RCN has repeatedly condemned the pressure nurses are under from short staffing. This research confirms what frontline nurses know: having too few nurses on a ward does not just make nursing more difficult, more importantly it puts patients at risk. We know that more than 61,000 posts are at risk in the NHS in England, and our members are telling us that staffing levels are regularly preventing them from delivering the highest standard of patient care. As this research shows, it is not only the number of staff which presents this danger, it is the level of skill available on a ward at a given time. This must include enough registered nurses, who are fully trained in identifying that a patient is deteriorating, and able to intervene themselves or summon the correct help.
“Combined with a hospital population which is often acutely ill and suffering multiple conditions, low staffing levels are causing a situation which can only get worse. The RCN believes that there is an urgent need for mandated safe staffing levels, which set out how many patients each registered nurse should care for. Equally, we believe that there should be a guaranteed ratio of registered to non-registered nursing staff on duty. This report contains further undeniable evidence, if it were needed, of the clear and present danger of low staffing levels in UK hospitals. Now is the time for the Government and NHS Trusts to take staffing levels seriously in order to prevent a tragedy.”
Ends
Notes for Editors
1. The latest analysis of the association between nurse staffing levels and failure to rescue is available here - http://www.journalofnursingstudies.com/article/S0020-7489(12)00365-3/abstract
2. The RCN has issued guidance on the skill mix of nursing teams recommending a 65:35% mix of registered nurses to health care support workers, guidance on the number of nurse per patients on elder care wards and guidance for boards and employers on information they should monitor when planning safe staffing levels.
3. The RCN’s paper on mandatory safe staffing levels was published on 20 March 2012 and can be accessed here http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/439578/03.12_Mandatory_nurse_staffing_levels_v2.pdf
4. 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