Only a quarter of nursing shifts have the expected number of on-call nurses, according to a survey of more than 20,000 front-line workers.
According to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), most nurses warn that staffing levels in their last shift were not enough to meet the needs of patients and that some are now leaving their jobs.
The RCN said the findings illustrated the impact of the shortage of nursing staff in the UK, and warned that nurses were being “expelled” from their profession.
In her keynote address at the RCN’s annual convention in Glasgow, Secretary-General Pat Cullen is expected to warn of growing nurses’ concern about patient safety.
Four out of five respondents said the staffing levels of their last shift were not enough to meet all the needs and dependency of their patients. The findings also indicated that only a quarter of shifts had the expected number of registered nurses on duty, a sharp drop from 42% in 2020 and 45% five years ago, the RCN said.
“Our new report reveals the state of health and healthcare services across the UK,” Cullen said. “It shows the shortage that forces you to do more than the extra mile, and when the shortage is greater, you are forced to leave the patient unattended.
“Never mind that it’s normal not to have enough staff to cover the needs of patients. Is not. Today, members are spreading the word: the infirmary says loud and clear, “That’s enough.”
Cullen said now was the time to break the cycle. “It is your professional duty to care about the insecure staff and we are behind you. Twenty-five thousand registered nurses left last year, a sharp increase over the previous year, at the moment we can not afford the luxury of losing a single individual. The pressure is too great and the reward too little. “
Nursing staff, he added, are being expelled due to staff shortages and poor culture. “Those in the government who listen to my words have had enough. The patients and those we care for have had enough. We are tired, fed up, demoralized, and some of us are leaving the profession because we have lost hope.” .
Last spring, official figures showed that the NHS was facing an ever-deepening staffing crisis, with the number of unoccupied posts in health services in England rising to 110,192.