RCN responds to Healthcare Commission’s NHS staff survey 2008
Published: 25 March 2009
Embargoed: 00:01 Wednesday 25th March, 2009
RCN responds to Healthcare Commission's NHS staff survey 2008
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) today welcomed the publication of the sixth annual survey of NHS staff, which shows significant improvements in infection control, but expressed concern that reports of violence against staff remained unchanged.
Dr. Peter Carter, RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary said:
"This survey shows that nine out of ten staff feel that they are able to make a difference to patients, and this is why people choose to come into nursing. It is particularly positive that more staff are reporting that they have been trained in infection control and that hand-washing materials are always available when they need them, although there is still plenty left to do in the fight against infections.
"Employers now need to address the problems which we know make staff unhappy, as nearly half of staff said they would not recommend the NHS as a place to work. Forty-seven per cent of staff also said that there were not enough staff to do their jobs properly, and we have seen the devastating effects this can have on patients.
"Only last week, the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust was criticised for putting money-saving measures ahead of safe patient care. If there are too few nurses and staff are putting in extra unpaid hours just to do the job, then it is no surprise that less than a third feel valued by their employers. Put simply, good nursing care needs enough nurses to deliver it, and understaffed wards put the lives of patients at risk.
"The number of attacks on NHS staff is still unacceptable. Nurses and other NHS staff should be able to care for patients while feeling safe, secure and properly supported by employers. The government has made a welcome pledge to provide extra investment, such as alarms for staff working alone in the community, but we need to see this put in place quickly so that NHS staff can get on with the job of treating patients free of the threat of violence."
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Notes to Editors
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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.