Action call as study shows nurses’ fears

SCOTLAND’S nurses have warned that care is being compromised by understaffing on more than half of the country’s wards.

In a survey of more than 3000 nurses, more than 50 per cent said their last shift was understaffed and 53 per cent said the shortage affected patient care.

Now, the Royal College of Nursing are calling for the Scottish Government, health boards and integration authorities to examine whether Scotland has enough nursing staff to provide safe care to people.

The RCN survey asked nurses about staffing levels on their most recent shift.

In Scotland, 54 per cent said they didn’t have enough time to provide the level of care they would like, while 47 per cent said they felt demoralised.

Nurses are also working an average of 46 minutes extra at the end of their shift and more than a third said they had to leave necessary care undone because of a lack of time.

Theresa Fyffe, director of the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland, said: “Decisionmakers cannot ignore the voice of nursing staff who say there are not enough of them to provide safe, effective, high-quality care any longer.

“The Scottish Government have the opportunity with their proposed safe staffing legislation to address these challenges and to safeguard nursing in Scotland for generations to come.

“Nursing teams on the frontline have spoken out. It is now up to those in positions of power to listen and to act.”

Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary Miles Briggs added: “There’s no shortage of warnings about staffing levels across Scotland’s hospitals but this is about as alarming as it gets and patients will be deeply concerned that so many nurses feel this way.

“The RCN Scotland are right to call for an urgent review. Scotland’s nurses and health professionals go the extra mile every day to help deliver world-class treatment and care but it is clear that staff shortages in the NHS are having a detrimental impact on their workload.”