In a letter tonight to NHS chief executives in England, RCN Chair of Council Carol Popplestone and England Director Patricia Marquis have urged employers to ensure there are clear with their employees including their nursing teams that accountability does not sit with individual professionals for the impact of decisions out with their control.
Responding to an NHS England update on ambulance handovers in light of the heatwave which referred to ‘the creation of observation areas and exploring further ways to add additional beds elsewhere in the hospital’, they said demand in our health and care system was already at an “extreme” level and talk of trying to create extra capacity like that in hospitals will “fuel further worry”.
They say that “only yesterday, we publicly raised concerns on behalf of our members that patient care is compromised or lacking in dignity when care is given in inappropriate locations”, adding: “With every ‘bed’ that is created, the nurse staffing level must rise too. It is our fear that, with existing nurse staffing challenges, this will further dilute nurse-to-patient ratios.”
They say: “The setting of staffing levels and nurse-to-patient ratios are out with the control of an individual nurse working at the point of care.
“We expect every organisation to adhere to their legal duty under The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (GB) together with the Regulations which fall under either Act, towards all employees and others affected by their work activities, by taking all reasonable and practicable measures to reduce the risk of harm to staff, patients and the wider public as far as possible.
“The RCN recognises that most employers are taking their statutory duties as an employer seriously, especially in relation to the health safety and wellbeing of our members.”
But they say: “Our members report that the current situation is compromising patient safety and their own professional values. Many are raising concerns of potential incidents and disciplinary action and question whether the extraordinary pressure will be adequately acknowledged in investigations/incident reviews.
“The RCN continues to advise our members to document concerns, raise them through organisational policies to resolve the issues locally where possible.”
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