• News
  • Clinical
  • Professional
  • Students
  • Opinion
  • COVID-19
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Hospital relaxes staffing rules meaning one nurse will care for twelve patients

The move comes amid unprecedented demand for services due to COVID-19 which has seen the trust declare a critical incident.

Share  
Tweet  
by James McKay
18/11/2020

Adobe

Staffing inside critical care areas will “stay in line with business as usual”.

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) have reportedly relaxed nurse staffing rules to allow one nurse to care for up to twelve patients.

The move comes amid unprecedented demand for healthcare services due to COVID-19 which has seen the trust declare an “internal critical incident”.

Late last week ward nurses at the trust were told; “Adult inpatient wards will be staffed on a nurse to patient ratio of 1 registered nurse (RN) to 10 patients during the day, and 1 registered nurse to 12 patients during the night.”

Staffing inside critical care and high dependency areas will “stay in line with business as usual”.

Unlike Scotland and Wales and despite ongoing calls from senior nursing figures, England currently lacks any form of minimum safe nursing staffing legislation.

Guidance from the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) states that “there is evidence of increased risk of harm” when nurses care for more than 8 patients. 

A senior nurse at the trust speaking to NursingNotes said the decision has been made due to a combination of factors. Ongoing “recruitment and retention issues” combined with a “large number of staff self-isolating” had caused significant staffing issues for the trust.

She added that although the trust was “trying its best”, it was “hard to see light at the end” of the tunnel due to the current government guidance on self-isolation.

Anthony Johnson, a nurse and lead organiser for Nurses United UK, commented on the news;  “Even before COVID-19 we knew staffing within our NHS was not safe.

“Now NHS trusts are being forced to ignore the evidence of the dramatic risks to patient safety when 1 nurse is caring for more than 8 patients.

“I hope all my sisters and brothers on the frontline are putting in incident reports every shift and finding the time to rest when they can. We won’t beat COVID at the expense of our health staff. You don’t have a health service without it’s nurses.

Carolyn Mills, chief nurse at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This is not a blanket change to nurse to patient ratios in our hospital but a clinically- led decision we have taken in some areas where it is safe and appropriate to do so and to help us manage the increasing demand for our services during this global pandemic.

“These decisions are under constant review based on clinical and staffing needs on shift by shift basis while senior clinicians are also on hand to offer wellbeing support and care to colleagues if required.”

ADVERTISEMENT

POPULAR

PHE and DHSC reject nurses plea for ‘a higher level PPE’

15/01/2021

RCN demands answers over PPE ‘postcode lottery’

23/01/2021

‘Empty hospitals’ group shut down by Facebook for spreading ‘misinformation’

12/01/2021

PPE provided to healthcare workers not ‘adequate to keep them safe’, says Labour

21/01/2021

Scotland confirms it has no plans to deploy student nurses on paid clinical placements

17/01/2021
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT


the Handover

Nursing news and clinical updates direct to your inbox.



Your data is held in accordence with our Privacy Policy.

Related Posts

Workforce

NHS staff want ‘respite’ and ‘reinforcements’ more than a pay rise, claims NHS chief

27/01/2021
Workforce

Public overwhelmingly support a 10% pay rise for nursing staff, finds poll

26/01/2021
News

RCN election policy needs to be modernised, finds report

26/01/2021
News

Over 850 health and social care workers have now died of COVID-19

25/01/2021
Workforce

Pfizer doses should be six weeks apart not twelve, say doctors

25/01/2021
Workforce

RCN demands answers over PPE ‘postcode lottery’

23/01/2021
News

RCN sets new September date for face-to-face or virtual Congress

22/01/2021
Workforce

Medical students demand an end to ‘compulsory’ placements covering ‘menial’ nursing duties

21/01/2021
NursingNotes

NursingNotes has been created for nurses by nurses.

Follow Us

Top Categories

  • Clinical
  • Education
  • Health Politics
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Professional
  • Research
  • Resources
  • Sponsored
  • Workforce

Recent Posts

  • NHS staff want ‘respite’ and ‘reinforcements’ more than a pay rise, claims NHS chief
  • Public overwhelmingly support a 10% pay rise for nursing staff, finds poll
  • RCN election policy needs to be modernised, finds report
  • Over 850 health and social care workers have now died of COVID-19
  • Agenda for Change NHS Pay Bands
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • About us
  • Contact us

© 2019 NursingNotes.co.uk

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Clinical
  • Professional
  • Students
  • Opinion
  • COVID-19

© 2019 NursingNotes.co.uk

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.