Will you be feeling the pressure this winter


What do you do when the influx of patient admissions and staff sickness during the winter exceeds your operational capacity? Turning patients away or closing beds is often considered which could compromise the patient experience. And according to the Royal College of Nurses 4 out of 10 nurses say staff shortages already compromise patient care at least once a week.

An RCN manifesto to all the political parties says NHS employers must assure themselves they have safe staff levels. The RCN has issued its 2009 Employment Survey which covers the views of 9,000 nurses. It shows that more than half (55%) say they are too busy to provide the level of care they would like. Almost two thirds (67%) consider their workload is too heavy. And nurses say they are looking after more patients on the wards.

Dr Peter Carter, head of the RCN, said staff were concerned that they were delivering the basics but were unable to provide the full range of quality care they would like. He said: "Nurses and healthcare assistants feel up against it, worn down and exhausted by the pressure to make efficiencies and frustrated by being prevented from delivering the quality of care they want to be providing." Dr Carter said: "The nursing workforce has grown in recent years but only just enough to keep up with rising demands on healthcare. We expect the next few years will be the most challenging for staff levels in decades. There is considerable pressure to cut staff numbers without taking patient needs into consideration. Policy makers must look at the workforce in conjunction with their ability to deliver high quality and safe care."

Karen Charman, head of employment services at NHS Employers which represents trusts in England, said NHS organisations certainly needed to have a clear method of working out safe staffing levels in order that patient care was not harmed. "There are a number of different ways of achieving this and we believe that this should be determined at local level," she said. "Advice from professional bodies is extremely important to help trusts ensure that clinical standards and staffing levels are right to ensure the safety of patients. However, fixed staffing ratios do not provide the flexibility to meet differing local circumstances and care settings. Employers are increasingly examining the different roles within their workforce to best use the skills of their staff."

As we approach the winter period staffing pressure will undoubtedly increase and we are receiving enquiries from across the UK, from NHS managers looking at different options available to them when they are in this situation. They want to keep beds open, continue admitting patients and open a ward, giving extra beds and capacity to deliver high quality and safe care but don’t have the resources available. ICS are in the unique position to help these trusts this winter by providing different options. These could be adhoc staff or a dedicated team of healthcare professionals, whether that’s to fully staff a ward or backfill areas left short, when trusts examine the different roles within their workforce to best use the skills of their staff where they are needed. We will be supporting many NHS trusts this winter with a flexible and dedicated workforce, which compliments their existing skill sets and helps them deliver high quality and safe care.