Nursing staff in Wales are short of 1,719 team members.
A new campaign by the Royal College of Nursing Wales (RCN), projected a direct message to the Welsh Government on iconic buildings across Cardiff tonight.
The union illuminated the Senedd, Pierhead and Principality Stadium to expose the harsh reality nurses face every day due to staff shortages.
The message read: “Nursing staff in Wales are short of 1,719* team members. It’s time to give Wales the full team of nurses we desperately need.”
Short-staffed.
One nurse who is backing the campaign is George, 22, who works in intensive care and looks after critically ill patients in Wales.
He said: “I started working on intensive care in November 2020 during the second wave of the pandemic. We were short staffed then but got through it together.
“Going through the trauma of losing so many patients and working so hard brought us close together and I made close friends with a lot of the team.
“But this year almost all of those colleagues have left due to the stress of staffing levels. I work with agency staff and new starters that I don’t know. It is damaging for morale not to have a support network at work.”
Working tirelessly.
Richard Jones MBE, Chair of the RCN Wales Board said “Every day, nurses work tirelessly to take care of people, but we need to start taking better care of them.
“Research has shown that poor nurse staffing levels can increase mortality by up to 26 per cent – and there are 1,719 nursing staff vacancies in Wales.
“This means there aren’t enough nurses to provide the most safe and effective care for patients. Without a full team, lives may be put at risk.”
To sign the petition or to find out more about the campaign, visit www.forthefullteam.com
