This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Growth of nurse workforce dwindles as NHS trusts mismanage finance
This year, 3,300 additional whole-time equivalent (WTE) registrants were working at NHS trusts across England, compared to the 6,500 WTE posts being filled the year before. The negative trend is particularly significant in the numbers of acute, elderly and general nurses.
The tailing off of an initial surge in nurse contracting has prompted experts to council that trusts decision-making focuses on cost-cutting rather than safe staffing. Academics further warn that this could result in a compromise of patient safety due to an over-reliance on temporary workers.
Jennifer Hunt, visiting professor in nursing at Anglia Ruskin University, says trusts were ‘horrendously overspent’. Professor Hunt continued to explain that the need for future safe staffing policies is increasingly necessary as hospitals are expected to require a greater complexity of care.
Professor Hunt subsequently indicated that permanent nursing recruitment was slowing down primarily because there was a lack in student nurses qualifying to fill vacancies.
Professor James Buchan, nursing workforce expert at Edinburgh’s Queen Margaret University, commented that: “Agency use is in some cases a deliberate decision by trusts to maintain a higher level of longer term vacancies to try and exert more financial control when times are difficult.
“Financially that might make sense. It doesn’t make any sense at all in terms of continuity of care or building up a sustainable workforce.”
Professor Buchan continued to say: “I don’t think the slowdown in growth reflects overall a supply problem. Trusts can, if they wish, still recruit from abroad.”
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