Nurses urged to record unsafe staffing levels where they work
Posted 25 September 2023 - 08:00
Unison survey asks nursing members to log status at end of every shift; the data will be used to hold hospitals to account and push for recruitment and retention improvements
Nurses are being asked to make a record of any unsafe staffing levels at the end of every shift they work in October in a bid to expose the dangerous levels of understaffing in NHS trusts.
Nursing members of Unison in Liverpool, Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff, Cornwall and South Wales will be asked to complete a quick survey at the end of every shift and log any shortages, as well as any problems it has caused.
Data will look at impact on patient safety
The survey is part of the union’s ‘Only Enough is Enough’ campaign, which aims to highlight chronic staffing issues by gathering data from the front line about staffing levels in different departments and the impact on patient care and safety.
If successful, the survey should be rolled out to Unison’s other branches across England and Wales early next year.
Giving nurses ‘power to take meaningful action and make a change’
‘Every single year at our branch meetings and conferences we hear about staffing issues getting worse and worse,’ Unison national officer for nursing Stuart Tuckwood told Nursing Standard.
‘A lot of nursing staff feel like enough is enough and they can’t go on like this any longer. People are exhausted and it is contributing to burnout.
‘This pilot is about giving nurses the tools to record what they are dealing with day to day, and to give them power to take meaningful action locally and make a change.’
The union says its branches will be able to use data from the survey to hold their local hospitals to account and push for new measures to recruit and retain staff. It hopes the pilot will motivate managers to engage with staff to solve staffing issues locally.
Survey is quick to complete
Mr Tuckwood added that often nurses do not know how they should report poor staffing levels on their ward or unit, with some being told to speak to a manager, use Datix or flag to inspectors at the Care Quality Commission.
‘The Datix system is not always consistent, and we know that often staff don’t feel listened to when they use that system. This survey is short and will not eat into work time. People can do it as they are walking to their car on their phone,’ he said.
‘It’s about working together to show where the real problems lie day to day, and working to secure proper staffing levels and make patient care safe.’
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