This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Specialist cancer nurses struggling with workload
A new report has highlighted that cancer patients are missing out on vital care as specialist nurses struggle with huge workloads.
According to Macmillan Cancer Support, 22 per cent of the 260 cancer nurse specialists surveyed by the charity said they have taken annual leave to undertake training, while 39 per cent described their workload as unmanageable.
A further 44 per cent said their workload was having a negative impact on patient care.
Currently, one in ten nursing positions in the NHS in England are vacant, leaving a shortfall of around 40,000 nurses. Macmillan Cancer Support argues that they struggle with huge, increasing workloads, and have to use annual leave to try and stay up to date with training on the latest developments and treatments.
Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, said: “This report is concerning, especially when we saw this week that the UK is lagging behind other countries on cancer survival. There are chronic staff shortages across the NHS, including over 40,000 nurses.
“We’ve even heard of trusts exploring whether to close chemotherapy units because of a lack of specialist nurses. Ministers must get a grip of this situation – patients with cancer deserve the very best quality care and this government is failing them.”
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