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NHS staffing levels risk another Mid Staffordshire-style scandal - report NHS staffing levels risk another Mid Staffordshire-style scandal - report
(5 months later)
Frontline NHS staff are so busy they do not have time to help patients eat and drink, explain treatments or keep proper records, according to a survey that has renewed calls for minimum staffing levels.Frontline NHS staff are so busy they do not have time to help patients eat and drink, explain treatments or keep proper records, according to a survey that has renewed calls for minimum staffing levels.
Research among more than 1,500 nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants also reveals that half fear that care at their hospital is so poor that a Mid Staffordshire-style scandal is either possible or already occurring.Research among more than 1,500 nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants also reveals that half fear that care at their hospital is so poor that a Mid Staffordshire-style scandal is either possible or already occurring.
The survey was carried out by the health union Unison on 5 March and aimed to capture the realities of life for frontline personnel on a typical day. It paints a picture of staff who are often overworked, stressed and neglecting patients' basic needs because there are too few of them to provide proper care. The findings prompted fresh questions about the wisdom of losing almost 5,000 nursing posts in the NHS in England since the 2010 election and the need to make up to £20bn of efficiency savings by 2015. Unison is demanding that ministers bring in legal minimum staff-to-patient ratios to ensure good quality care and patient safety, a call backed by the Royal College of Nursing and Labour.The survey was carried out by the health union Unison on 5 March and aimed to capture the realities of life for frontline personnel on a typical day. It paints a picture of staff who are often overworked, stressed and neglecting patients' basic needs because there are too few of them to provide proper care. The findings prompted fresh questions about the wisdom of losing almost 5,000 nursing posts in the NHS in England since the 2010 election and the need to make up to £20bn of efficiency savings by 2015. Unison is demanding that ministers bring in legal minimum staff-to-patient ratios to ensure good quality care and patient safety, a call backed by the Royal College of Nursing and Labour.
The survey found that only 31% of nurses working in the NHS across the UK on 5 March believed there were enough staff in their workplace to guarantee patients received dignified, compassionate care. "The overwhelming majority who said this also said told us that patients went without the fundamentals of care due to inadequate staffing levels. This wasn't because staff didn't care or try hard enough. They were simply understaffed and unable to provide the level of care needed", said Gail Adams, Unison's head of nursing.That meant staff also did not have enough time to, for example, reassure patients over their fears, take them to the toilet, help them to regain their mobility or even spend enough time with them as they were dying.The survey found that only 31% of nurses working in the NHS across the UK on 5 March believed there were enough staff in their workplace to guarantee patients received dignified, compassionate care. "The overwhelming majority who said this also said told us that patients went without the fundamentals of care due to inadequate staffing levels. This wasn't because staff didn't care or try hard enough. They were simply understaffed and unable to provide the level of care needed", said Gail Adams, Unison's head of nursing.That meant staff also did not have enough time to, for example, reassure patients over their fears, take them to the toilet, help them to regain their mobility or even spend enough time with them as they were dying.
Almost one in five respondents (19.7%) said failings were as bad as those at Stafford hospital, where between 400 and 1,200 patients died between 2005 and 2009 due to poor care. Asked how confident they were that a similar situation to Mid Staffs could never happen at their NHS trust 35.7% said they were either very (6.2%) or fairly (29.5%) confident it would not happen. But29.6% said their trust was at risk of a Mid Staffs-type situation, while 9.9% said that was already happening in the hospital and 9.8% said it was already occurring across the organisation.Almost one in five respondents (19.7%) said failings were as bad as those at Stafford hospital, where between 400 and 1,200 patients died between 2005 and 2009 due to poor care. Asked how confident they were that a similar situation to Mid Staffs could never happen at their NHS trust 35.7% said they were either very (6.2%) or fairly (29.5%) confident it would not happen. But29.6% said their trust was at risk of a Mid Staffs-type situation, while 9.9% said that was already happening in the hospital and 9.8% said it was already occurring across the organisation.
Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, said the fall in nursing numbers from 281,431 in May 2010 to 276,544 last month was partly to blame amd that nurses are under intense pressure. "Too many hospitals across England are sailing dangerously close to the wind by operating below safe staffing levels", said Burnham, who urged ministers to accept the recommendation of Robert Francis QC's report into Mid Staffs that the NHS should introduce benchmarks on staffing.Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, said the fall in nursing numbers from 281,431 in May 2010 to 276,544 last month was partly to blame amd that nurses are under intense pressure. "Too many hospitals across England are sailing dangerously close to the wind by operating below safe staffing levels", said Burnham, who urged ministers to accept the recommendation of Robert Francis QC's report into Mid Staffs that the NHS should introduce benchmarks on staffing.
The Department of Health, which prefers voluntary staffing levels, said: "There is no excuse for hospitals that don't have enough staff on the wards. There are now more clinical staff, including more midwives and more health visitors, in the NHS but we cannot sit in Whitehall and dictate exactly where these staff members should work. Hospitals need the freedom and flexibility to decide on how many staff to employ, because they know the care their patients need."The Department of Health, which prefers voluntary staffing levels, said: "There is no excuse for hospitals that don't have enough staff on the wards. There are now more clinical staff, including more midwives and more health visitors, in the NHS but we cannot sit in Whitehall and dictate exactly where these staff members should work. Hospitals need the freedom and flexibility to decide on how many staff to employ, because they know the care their patients need."
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