End of NHS safe-staffing guidelines 'risks another Mid Staffs scandal'
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Version 0 of 1. The NHS regulator’s decision to scrap work on safe-staffing guidelines risks another Mid Staffs scandal in the health service, the head of the nurses’ union has warned. Earlier, this month, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) unexpectedly announced it would no longer attempt to set out how many nurses were needed in different parts of hospitals to ensure safe patient care. Nice said the work – one of the key recommendations of the Francis report into Mid Staffs – had been halted on the instruction of NHS England. Addressing the Royal College of Nursing congress in Bournemouth on Monday, the body’s general secretary and chief executive, Peter Carter, said to applause: “We are calling on the secretary of state, Jeremy Hunt, and the chief executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens, to revisit this decision. “We all know the consequences when there’s too little nursing time to make sure frail elderly patients are properly hydrated. “We all remember what happened at Stafford hospital when finances were allowed to come before patient safety. We can’t let that happen again.” Nice has already produced safe-staffing levels for adult acute wards and maternity units. But NHS England will now take over its planned work on devising further ratios for emergency departments, mental health units and community health service providers. Fears have been voiced that NHS England, driven by the need to cut costs, will introduce lower standards – in terms of the number of nurses required – that are cheaper for hospitals to meet, or abandon the guidelines altogether. Carter said: “Nice is an independent body with the right expertise to judge how many nursing staff we need to ensure safe patient care. And I haven’t heard anyone make a good case for stopping its work.” He described safe staffing guidelines as one of the RCN’s number one priorities. In his last address to congress as leader, Carter said austerity had harmed the NHS and would continue to do so. He gave the example of 4,000 mental health nurses he said had been cut since 2010 and the £200m cut in funding in public health in England, announced earlier this month. “Let us be under no illusion, he said. “The years of cuts will take years to repair. This is a problem right across the UK. Cuts to posts, downgrading, dilution of skill mix, resulting in care being compromised and patients suffering.” He added: “The NHS is going to feel more squeezed than ever as it tries to shape up to its future challenges. “NHS England is asking for bigger efficiency savings in the next five years –£22bn worth. And we all know what the last five years of so-called efficiency savings felt like.” NHS England referred the Guardian to a letter sent by the chief nursing officer, Jane Cummings, to nursing directors, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and other stakeholders, earlier this month. Referring to the safe staffing changes, she wrote: “This is not about saving money; more about using the money we have as efficiently and effectively as possible. I would not suggest anything that would compromise patient safety.” A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “We are absolutely committed to making the NHS the safest healthcare system in the world. Key to this is our critical priority that staffing levels are safe. “NHS trusts will continue to use Nice guidance on safe staffing to ensure high quality patient care. NHS England will take this work forward alongside their programme of service reviews.” |