Government has 'failed' to reverse nursing shortages

The Royal College of Nurses (RCN) has issued a warning to government today that its policies have failed to reverse serious shortages in nursing staff.

According to the RCN's report, 'More Nurses, Working Differently?', despite the increase in nursing staff resulting from a range of workforce planning and management initiatives, nursing shortages "have not been solved".

The rate of growth in the UK NHS varies with an increase in England of 11% - largely as a result of the increase of internationally recruited nurses. Since 1999, approximately 34,000 overseas nurses have joined the Nursing and Midwifery Council register, whilst the rate of growth has been slower in Wales (8%), Northern Ireland (6%) and Scotland (5%).

The report also reveals that the biggest percentage growth in England is in the numbers of managers and healthcare assistants at 33% and 46% respectively between 1999-02 – this is compared to a 12% increase in qualified nurses and 10% increase in medical and dental staff.

There are also variations in the rate of growth between different categories of nurses and the specialties they work in. For example there has been a marked decline in the number of district nurses, health visitors and the numbers of nurses working in the learning disability services and midwives. Whilst the proportion of nurses over 55-years-old has increased from 9% to 15% between 1991 and 2001.

Dr Beverly Malone, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said: "The severe imbalance in the rate of growth of the UK nursing labour workforce is putting the future of patient care at risk. It requires an urgent co-ordinated action plan by the UK’s four health departments.

"With agency costs in England alone soaring to £529 million and up to 20,000 nurses leaving every year, it would be wrong to become complacent. The evidence is that nurses are still struggling to meet the workload and without urgent action from all the Health Ministers we are heading for a decade where quality patient care is put at risk."

(gmcg)