Nurses for medical consultant rota: NHS trust’s job ad U-turn
Posted 17 August 2023 - 06:59
Trust issues apology after prominent doctor raises patient safety concerns over ‘non-medical consultants’ joining medical rotation on new hyper acute stroke unit
A hospital trust has come under fire for advertising for two nurses to join the medical consultant rota on their new hyper acute stroke unit (HASU).
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (BTHFT) advertised for two ‘non-medical consultants’ to work in its acute stroke service in the Integrated Medicine and Patient Flow (IMPF) division. It said it is looking for nurses or allied healthcare professionals (AHPs) on band 8b, c, or d to fill the roles.
However, the trust has since removed the advertisement from its website after palliative care doctor Rachel Clarke posted the advertisement on Twitter, prompting nurses to voice concerns.
Dr Clarke wrote: ‘This is an NHS trust advertising for a non-doctor to be employed on the consultant on-call rota.
‘I’m unclear if this is due to the national shortage of consultants in so many medical specialities, or an attempt to save money, but how can this possibly not risk patient safety?’
Nurse Valerie Unsworth said: ‘The issue isn’t the word ‘consultant’, I’m a nurse consultant and know the title is not owned by medicine. It’s having non-medics on the medical rota that is a massive worry.’
The trust tweeted an apology and said that the advertisement did not ‘adequately represent the role’, adding it would be posting a new one imminently.
It added: ‘Thank you for letting us know and apologies to all those who have concerns. We are looking into it now.’
The trust’s executive director of nursing, midwifery, AHPs and quality Bridget Lees later said: ‘Rest assured, we are addressing this issue to ensure its accuracy before re-advertising the role.
‘The role of a nursing/AHP consultant is instrumental in the operations of the unit. Beyond contributing advanced expertise that enhances the collaborative efforts of our consultants, it also plays a pivotal role in fostering leadership and delivering specialised training in this specific field.’
Value of nurse consultants role
While some reacted with concern that a nurse of AHP would be part of the medical rota for acute stroke patients, others noted they would be valued members of the HASU team, not to be undervalued.
However, the advertisement did not make clear whether these roles would be in place of, or in addition to, medical consultants.
Others suggested the trust would be responsible if patient safety were put at risk. Simon Nahk tweeted: ‘I guess it depends what decisions they are expected to make and what actions they are expected to take. The risk lies with employers putting them into a position they are not qualified to undertake. They must have considered that and decided there is no additional risk.’
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