Nurse shifts left unfilled at nearly every hospital

An investigation by the Health Service Journal (HSJ) has revealed that almost every NHS acute hospital in England is failing to meet its own nurse staffing targets.

The HSJ analysis highlighted that 96 per cent of NHS trusts had fewer nurses covering day shifts in October than they had planned, 85 per cent did not have the desired number working at night.

The data, which has triggered fresh concerns over current nursing shortages and the effect this has on patient safety, also showed that nurse shortages have led to patients having to wait for medication, going unwashed or not having observations done on time.

In hospitals in England, a nurse is meant to look after no more than eight medical patients, and the ratio can be as low as one to one in neonatal and intensive care units.

The HSJ, however, reported one incident which saw just one nurse left to care for 24 patients on a medical ward in 2015 after her only other colleague needed to provide one to one care. The HSJ says that ‘eventually care to the rest of the ward [was] missed, medications were delayed or given late, and relatives were unhappy about the lack of nurse’s presence/availability on the ward’.

The analysis also stated that unusually high numbers of healthcare assistants were being employed, possibly suggesting that trusts are replacing nurses with cheaper personnel who have little clinical training.

Some nurses working in hospitals across England have shared their experiences of working on understaffed wards during the past year.

A hospital nurse working in the South West said: “I feel inadequate and ineffective when we are short-staffed. I have an overwhelming feeling of sadness that I cannot provide these vulnerable human beings with the care they need and deserve.

“The most patients I have ever had is 16 on a night shift, I know for a fact that I did not do all the observations and can only hope that I did not cause anyone any real harm.”

Janet Davies, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “This is yet more evidence that there are too few nurses caring for patients, putting people at serious risk. Safe staffing levels aren’t an optional extra. Having the right number of nurses is essential to ensure that patients can recover properly.”