Senior nurses issue warning over staffing levels

A group of senior nurses is warning that staffing levels on many hospital wards in England are unsafe.

The Safe Staffing Alliance (SSA) says wards often have just one registered nurse looking after eight patients

The alliance, which was formed last summer, says there is a worry that this ratio could be regarded as the minimum acceptable of staffing, when it in fact puts patients at risk, the BBC said.

The SSA says research shows that when nurses are asked to look after more than eight patients there is an increased in risk of harm or death.

The warning comes as a poll for the Sunday Mirror and the Nursing Standard journal found that more than three quarters of nurses believe a scandal similar to that in Mid-Staffordshire could happen again.

In the poll of 2,000 nurses, 40% said on their last shift there were not enough staff to provide a safe level of care.

The SSA, which includes the Royal College of Nursing, Unison and the Patients Association, said that nurse staffing levels have been ignored for too long, the BBC said.

The alliance quoted a survey of almost 3,000 nurses at 31 English hospitals which found that wards were run with a ration of one nurse for eight patients about 40% of the time.

In a statement the SSA said: "

In a statement, the group said: "For the sake of clarity, more than eight patients per registered nurse is the level considered to be unsafe and putting patients at risk. It is not a recommended minimum.

"For nurses to provide compassionate care which treats patients with dignity and respect, higher levels will be needed and these should be determined by every health care provider."

The survey by Nursing Standard and the Sunday Mirror also found that almost half of nurses had seen patients suffer as a result of services being cut. But 57.5% of nurses said they were still proud to work for the NHS.

Royal College of Nursing general secretary Dr Peter Carter told the newspaper: "What happened at Mid Staffordshire was a tragedy, and for nurses to say they predict another scandal is very worrying indeed.

"The issues of unsafe staffing levels, unregulated health care assistants, and a financially driven culture must be addressed."

The Government said hospitals were responsible for their own levels of staffing.

Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter said: "It is for hospitals themselves to decide how many nurses they employ, and they are best placed to do this.

"Nursing leaders have been clear that hospitals should publish staffing details and the evidence to show that staff numbers are right for the care needs of the patients that they look after.

"Overall, the number of clinical staff in the NHS has risen and the number of admin staff has fallen by 18,000."

Mr Poulter said a new chief inspector of hospitals would have powers to take action if hospitals are found to be compromising patient care by not having the right number of staff on wards.

PA