Patients at ‘lethal risk’ as nurses shifts are understaffed

GROWING nurse shortages mean just one quarter of shifts are properly staffed, placing patients at potentially “lethal risk”, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned.

A survey of more than 20,000 nurses shows gaps have risen by almost 50 per cent in just five years, with the loss of 25,000 nurses last year.

The polling by the RCN, which comes as the union opens its annual congress today in Glasgow, found eight in 10 nurses said the staffing levels on their last shift were inadequate.

Just 25 per cent of shifts had the planned number of registered nurses, a sharp fall from 42 per cent in 2020 and 45 per cent in 2017.

In her keynote address today, the RCN’S general secretary, Pat Cullen, will say staff are being driven out by a “poor culture” and having to cover too many vacancies, adding: “Nursing is saying loud and clear: enough is enough.”