Rest, rehydrate and refuel

Nurses and health care assistants know better than most the importance of adequate fluids and nutrition. They also know the consequences of going without. But some employers, it seems, do not.

At RCN Congress in May delegates will discuss the banning of water bottles in practice settings. This might be less of a problem if staff were guaranteed breaks that allowed sufficient rest and refuelling. But according to Alison Upton of the UK Safety Reps Committee, that is often not the case.

Alison, who will introduce the Congress discussion, says: “In this current climate of low staffing numbers, either due to vacant posts or sickness absence, members are working long hours, often cutting their breaks short or missing them completely.”

She adds: “I’ve witnessed, both as a staff member and as a hospital visitor, staff going without breaks, rushing round looking fatigued.”

Essentials for safety

The Congress agenda item will feed into an RCN campaign designed to make sure nursing staff take the breaks they need to provide quality patient care. The “3Rs” initiative highlights the need to “rest, rehydrate, refuel” and encourages members to think about the consequences of not looking after themselves during shifts.

Those consequences can be serious. Respiratory nurse Gillian Pick crashed her car returning home from a 12-hour shift. Media reports said she had been unable to take a break during the shift and was suffering from low blood sugar.

Denise McLaughlin, who chairs the Safety Reps Committee, believes managers are generally sympathetic to the need for proper breaks. “But increasing numbers of members are saying they’re not allowed to have drinks in patient areas and on the nurses’ station. I think unless there’s a real risk of acute infection in a particular area I can’t see there’s a problem with staff having access to water bottles.”

Missed breaks have become the norm and this is not sustainable

And she points out that under UK law workers are entitled to an uninterrupted 20-minute break if they work more than six hours. “I would hope reps are asking questions of managers at their key committees – what are the statistics in their organisation regarding staff breaks? – and promoting this new RCN 3Rs resource as the tool to use.”

RCN National Officer Kim Sunley says: “It’s great to see the Safety Reps Committee recognising the important issues affecting members. Employers and managers need to recognise that in order to create safe and healthy working environments, nurses should be able to have regular breaks and healthy food during a shift, be that in the community or on a ward. Missed breaks have become the norm and this is not sustainable.”