Nurses say winter pressures are undermining care for the dying

THREE-QUARTERS OF NHS nurses believe winter pressures on the NHS have hampered their ability to care for dying patients.

In a new poll, 77 per cent said strain on the system over the colder months had a negative effect on the care of patients at the end of life.

Some 43 per cent of nurses said the impact was worse this year than last year. The survey of 600 nurses, by

Nursing Standard and the charity Marie Curie, also found that 65 per cent of nurses said they did not have sufficient time to provide high-quality care for patients who are dying.

Staffing levels and time constraints were the main barriers identified to providing high-quality care, followed by a lack of care provision in the community.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of nurses also raised concerns that many patients were dying in hospital and unable to get home due to funding problems or lack of community care.

A nurse responding to the survey said: “I have unfortunately experienced patients without families dying alone in rooms due to staff shortages. I am often unable to attend to families right away following the death of a lovedone due to needing to administer medications.”

Anne Cleary, deputy director of nursing for Marie Curie, said: “The results illustrate the unsustainable pressure being placed on nurses while they shoulder the huge responsibility of caring for people at the end of their lives.

“Nurses have told us that they are caring for more and more people who are dying in hospital when they don’t need to be there.”