Chronic workforce shortages have put nursing staff under unbearable pressure, says union chief
Nurses in England took an average of a week off sick last year because of stress, anxiety or depression, NHS figures reveal.
The disclosure has prompted concern that the intense strains nurses face in their jobs, including low pay and understaffing, are damaging their mental health and causing many to quit.
Continue reading...Crisis in NHS contributing to nurses being spat at and punched, leading some to leave the profession, Prof Nicola Ranger says
Nurses are being put in increasing danger from shocking levels of violence and aggression by patients, a senior nursing leader has warned.
Prof Nicola Ranger, the Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) director of nursing, said the crisis in the NHS had fuelled bad behaviour by patients frustrated by worsening delays for treatment since the Covid pandemic.
Continue reading...Hiring from ‘red-list’ nations risks destabilising healthcare overseas, warns Royal College of Nursing
The NHS has been accused of “unethical” behaviour after it emerged that it has been recruiting record numbers of nurses and midwives from countries which have serious staffing shortages.
Bringing in staff from “red-list” countries risked destabilising those nations’ healthcare systems and breaching government guidelines, said hospital employers and the Royal College of Nursing.
Continue reading...The huge increase in students needed to fill medical training places, and supplying the staff to teach them, may not be feasible
A “once in a generation” NHS recruitment plan requiring an extra 50,000 clinical training places in less than a decade risks being derailed by difficulties in finding enough applicants and a shrinking number of staff to teach them.
A new analysis seen by the Observer reveals the sheer scale of the proposed increase in NHS staff implied by the government’s long-awaited workforce plan, unveiled at the start of the summer and given a broad welcome across the NHS.
Continue reading...Royal College of Nursing raises doubts over whether enough members will get postal votes in on time
The rolling strikes by NHS nurses could “hit the end of the road” this week as the leader of the Royal College of Nursing raised doubts over whether sufficient numbers of members would get their postal votes in on time.
The RCN union’s ballot on further industrial action in England will close on 23 June but its general secretary, Pat Cullen, has for the first time suggested an affirmative result is in doubt.
Continue reading...Nurses union head clashes with Steve Barclay over plans to protect patients and RMT rows with Mark Harper about striking on eve of Eurovision final
The Royal College of Nursing has clashed with the government over whether sufficient exemptions have been made to protect patient safety during the nurses’ strike in England that started on Sunday evening.
The clash came as a row erupted between the leader of the train drivers’ union and the transport secretary, who had criticised a planned strike on the eve of the Eurovision song contest final for its impact on Ukraine.
Continue reading...Two trusts and one children’s hospital to receive emergency nursing staff after RCN had said there would be no derogations
The Royal College of Nurses appears to have U-turned on its decision to allow no exemptions to hospitals during this weekend’s strike action, with nurses now due to work in an emergency capacity in dozens of hospitals across England.
Nurses will be working across several NHS trusts – including Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS foundation trust, in London, and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS foundation trust – in wards including intensive care and A&E. This is despite the RCN vowing when strike action was announced that exemptions would not be made for any hospitals.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Health secretary trying to ‘wear down’ NHS nurses rather than negotiating, RCN general secretary to tell high court
Steve Barclay will be accused of wasting taxpayers’ money by pursuing striking nurses through the courts when the government seeks on Thursday to shorten their industrial action due to start on Sunday evening.
In a witness statement to be heard in the high court, Pat Cullen, the Royal College of Nursing’s general secretary, will say the health and social care secretary is trying to “wear down” nurses through legal action.
Continue reading...Pat Cullen said health secretary’s attempt to block 48-hour nurses’ strike was ‘cruel’ and ‘unacceptable’
The health secretary’s legal challenge against the Royal College of Nursing’s forthcoming strike is a “blatant threat”, the union’s leader has said.
Steve Barclay’s decision to refer to the courts, revealed on Friday, is the latest twist in the long-running saga over pay between nurses and the government.
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