Over half of nurses say that they are unable to provide the level of care required due to workforce pressures, the RCN Employment Survey 2019 has found.
The survey of 8307 nurses found that 61% are too busy to provide the level of care they would like, while 63% feel under too much pressure at work. Just under half said that they feel unable to balance their home and work lives.
‘The findings lay bare the serious consequences for both patients and nurses of the huge number of vacant nursing posts across the UK, with 43,000 vacancies in the NHS in England alone,’ said Dame Donna Kinnair, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the RCN.
‘Yet failure to increase nurse numbers isn’t inevitable, but a political choice. We need proper financial help for nursing students in every nation of the UK in order to ensure the supply of nurses in the future, and clear legal duties for governments and NHS leaders across the UK to ensure there are enough nurses to provide safe care to patients.’
The survey, which was first carried out in 1986, also shows that just a quarter of respondents think their pay is appropriate for the level of responsibility and stress they face at work, while three in 10 say they have suffered physical abuse from patients, or patients’ relatives, in the last 12 months. The survey also highlighted that health care assistants are increasingly being asked to take on the duties of registered nurses.
‘Health and social care services can't hope to recruit and retain staff if they don’t focus on the employment experience of their staff, but our new survey findings show that for many nurses, the picture is poor,’ added Dame Donna.
‘Patients depend on nurses to keep them safe in hospitals, in care homes and in their own homes. At its best, nursing gives people a sense of identity, pride, achievement and a huge sense of fulfilment. But our findings show that the pressures on staff are becoming so overwhelming that we risk losing more nurses from the already depleted workforce.’