Nursing and midwife vacancies in hospitals and healthcare around the UK - and in the North East - are growing and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned patient safety is being compromised.
Thousands of NHS and social care nurses were surveyed by the RCN and asked questions about the last shift they worked. Eight in 10 said that during that shift there weren’t enough nursing staff to ensure patients needs were met and they were safe. Of those who responded, just a quarter said there were as many registered nurses on shift as there ought to have been.
The RCN's general secretary Pat Cullen said: "The risk to patients, to services and to health and care staff is simply unacceptable. The complacency from governments across the UK is unacceptable. Our members are nursing under unsustainable pressure, and governments are risking lives by failing to take urgent action. Together, we’re determined to use our position as the leading voice of nursing to be the greatest champion of high-quality patient care."
