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Search results for "rcn"
21 records
found from year 2006
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| Monday, 24 April 2006 10:18 | | BNN: British Nursing News Online · www.bnn-online.co.uk |
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Nurses’ leaders warned yesterday that children with cancer and leukaemia are among those worst affected by hospital cuts introduced to contain the health service’s spiralling debt.
The closure of beds in community hospitals and the reduction in numbers of specialist nurses are also hitting the elderly and those with mental health problems, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said.
Leading nurses yesterday published a report including examples to back their claims and research disproving ministers’ claims that cutbacks have not affected patient care.
Among the examples were:
· Children with cancer and leukaemia in Taunton, Somerset, are no longer being treated by a community nurse because the local primary care trust withdrew funding it had promised to the cancer charity CLIC. The children now have to make long journeys for treatment, wrecking their chances of continuing a normal life in their own community.
· Avon and Wiltshire mental health trust has cut the number of beds by more than 65 to less than 40. The frail and vulnerable have to go further afield for treatment.
· In the Cotswolds, 80 community beds have been closed within the last three months to reduce deficits. A similar number have been lost in Felixstowe.
· Ward closures in Skegness has led to patients having to travel 40 miles to Lincoln.
· Minor injuries units are being closed and opening hours reduced.
The report was published on the same day that Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, claimed that the NHS had just enjoyed its “best year ever”.
Beverly Malone, general secretary of the RCN, attacked Ms Hewitt’s claims, saying that if this was the best year for the NHS she dreaded to think what a worse one could be like.
Dr Malone said: "NHS deficits are hitting patient services; to claim otherwise is simply wrong. These are real services for real people with real illnesses, and we have got to stop treating them as statistics on a balance sheet."
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| Sunday, 23 April 2006 10:38 | | BNN: British Nursing News Online · www.bnn-online.co.uk |
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The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has revealed that almost half of senior nurses have seen cuts in staff or training posts in the last year in the trust where they work in.
On the eve of the RCN's annual congress, a poll of almost 1,000 staff revealed that 60 per cent of senior nurses did not have the manpower to give patients the care they would like and 40 per cent would resign if they could. And eight out of 10 work unpaid overtime several times a week - with 30% doing so every shift.
In the survey, the nurses also said they wanted more resources, more time to spend with patients, and more time to educate staff and develop good practice.
Dr Beverly Malone, general secretary of the RCN, said: "Put simply, this survey shows that senior nurses are under pressure, under-resourced and under-appreciated.
"Patient care is suffering because of the huge pressures and demands these nurses are facing. They are working extremely hard in difficult circumstances, in a whirl of deficits and relentless reforms."
She added: "Government actions on deficits and the headlong rush into reforms is leaving disaffection and disillusionment in its wake. When nearly half of the senior nurses surveyed want to quit, the Government has got to sit up and take this issue seriously".
Chief Nursing Officer Christine Beasley said: "I appreciate how anxious some nurses will feel at present and how demanding their job is.
"I would like to reassure them that the threat of redundancy will be contained to as few people as possible and in many cases changes will be achieved through cutting down on agency staff, freezing non-essential vacant posts and redeploying staff into other roles”.
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| Saturday, 18 March 2006 09:49 | | BNN: British Nursing News Online · www.bnn-online.co.uk |
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NHS Direct, the Government's flagship telephone and online service could loosing hundreds of jobs after staff were told yesterday that it was about to become the latest arm of the health service to report a deficit.
At an NHS Direct meeting in London, employee representatives were told of proposals that included an immediate recruitment freeze. Managers warned of compulsory redundancies and the closure of some of its 54 call centres.
An NHS Direct discussion document said: "Alongside much of the NHS, we face considerable financial pressure over 2006/2007 with the potential for a deficit if we continue to operate from the number of sites that we do with the skill mix we currently have." It had "excess infrastructure", and needed to "streamline management" as well as "reduce work-force numbers".
But compulsory redundancies would be a last resort. Representatives from Unison, the largest health union, said that the cuts would "run into the hundreds".
Karen Jennings, Unison's head of health, said: "The threat of large-scale job losses and the closure of sites is a real shock”.
She said the cuts, which would involve moving staff from call centres to online jobs, were "short-sighted" and would put pressure on surgeries and emergency departments, because staff can take up to 25,000 calls a day.
"It is a slap in the face to staffs who have worked hard from the start to build up the profile and reputation of NHS Direct," she said.
"I fear that these cuts are just the tip of the iceberg and as the Government's love affair with the private sector and the private sector's love of off-shoring is well known, we may be hearing more bad news in the future”.
But Dr Mike Sadler, the chief operating officer and medical director of NHS Direct, said: "We are at the start of a journey with staff to determine how best to accommodate changes and offer the best possible service.
"We don't have figures [for job losses] and I don't think it is helpful for Unison to speculate." A Department of Health spokesman said it had yet to agree the proposed changes with NHS Direct but supported its "principle of efficiency".
"NHS Direct has reassured us that these changes are about making sure that its service meets the changing needs of patients”.
Nursing leaders warned of further cuts and compulsory redundancies, as trusts scramble to meet targets and balance their books before the end of the financial year.
Howard Catton, the RCN head of policy, said: "You can't make any headway by cutting back on tea and biscuits, but there is a more imaginative way to solve the problem, such as sharing the debt between trusts or writing off part of historic deficits”.
Ann Leedham-Smith, the RCN West Midlands director, said up to 5,000 jobs could go because of "huge problems" at hospitals such as Good Hope and City Hospital in Birmingham, New Cross in Wolverhampton, and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
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| Monday, 13 March 2006 11:26 | | BNN: British Nursing News Online · www.bnn-online.co.uk |
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Health officials are still to decide which trusts are to be visited by MRSA “hit squads” a month after the plans were announced, the BBC has reported.
In February, ministers said that teams would be sent into the 20 trusts with the “biggest MRSA challenges”, but since then only three have begun.
When she announced the specialist teams a month ago, health minister Jane Kennedy said that half of trusts were not meeting MRSA targets. The same day she announced teams would be sent to three trusts, Sandwell, Northumbria and Aintree, who had volunteered for help.
But in the subsequent weeks no more trusts have been allocated teams.
The Department of Health said it had always planned to allocate teams over the coming months and denied undue delays.
A spokesman said: "It is not taking a long time - it is actually quite a sensible way of doing things."
He said that those with the worst records on MRSA could change from month to month and added that trusts needed to volunteer for the help.
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said he had repeatedly pressed the government to take urgent action to deal with the risk of infection.
"Time and again they talk about what they are going to do and it's never pursued with the necessary urgency.
"Talk is cheap but lives are at risk," he said.
"If these hits squads are to be effective then it is urgent they do their work."
Liberal Democrat health spokesman Steve Webb said: "This sounds incredibly lethargic and lacking in urgency and the fact that this is voluntary is unbelievable.
"We keep hearing from ministers about task forces and action plans but what is it that stops them from taking MRSA seriously?
"It seems to be yet another symptom of the fact that they are not tackling this problem with the urgency it deserves.
"The problem would be made even worse if the present financial crisis is leading to the loss of frontline staff in infection control."
Mike Hayward, nurse adviser for acute and emergency care at the Royal College of Nursing, said it was rumoured that infection control nursing posts had been frozen in some cash-strapped trusts.
"It would be a false economy to cut these posts at a time when MRSA and other health care-associated infections are a number one priority in the public mind and also a key government target," he said.
He added: "The RCN wants to see a strategic plan from the Department of Health on exactly how these hit squads are going to work and how they're being utilised."
Officials were not moving as quickly as they could be, he said.
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| Friday, 03 March 2006 09:19 | | BNN: British Nursing News Online · www.bnn-online.co.uk |
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A £1million campaign was launched yesterday to encourage more Scottish people to work for the NHS.
The first TV and radio advertising campaign will aim to raise awareness of the range of careers offered by the country's largest employer.
The adverts will air from Monday to coincide with the start of the first Scottish NHS Awareness Week which will include a nationwide programme of open days and workshops, aimed at widening the demographic of NHS recruits.
Launching the campaign, Mr Kerr said: "Our new TV and radio adverts will raise awareness of the wide range of NHS careers available within Scotland's largest workforce – over 100 different occupations”.
The adverts have been created with the support of a steering group that included representation from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
Jane McCready, the RCN's Scotland board chair, said: "Job opportunities within the NHS are wide and varied and that includes nursing”.
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| Tuesday, 28 February 2006 13:45 | | BNN: British Nursing News Online · www.bnn-online.co.uk |
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Research has revealed that violence against nursing staff is increasing, as 80% of A&E nurses have reported harassment or an assault in the past year.
The Royal College of Nursing's (RCN) poll of nearly 3,000 nurses says that in the five years since their earlier survey the situation has deteriorated, despite "zero tolerance" campaigns promoted by the Government.
The figures come as the Government warned that those who abuse or threaten medical staff will be fined up to £1,000 under new proposals.
Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, will give details of a new "zero tolerance" approach to the problem at a GMB union conference in Nottingham today.
The RCN survey, Working Well - At Breaking Point, looked at the working lives of nurses, focussing on issues such as violence, stress and bullying.
The college said that nurses experienced more stress than other workers, measured by Health and Safety Executive stress standards.
They survey revealed that more than a quarter (27%) of nurses said they had been physically attacked at work - almost half in the previous year.
Beverly Malone, general secretary of the RCN, said: "This survey demonstrates the tough issues that nurses are facing everyday on top of a job that is physically and mentally demanding. We must make nurses' working lives better and safer.
"Added to these pressures, nurses are being threatened with yet more reforms, pay cuts and job losses. If we are going to bring more people into nursing and stop others leaving we have got to tackle these problems”.
Bill Darling, chairman of the NHS Security Management Service, said: "The small minority of people who attack nurses should be punished for their actions, which is why we strive to take the toughest possible action against anyone who assaults NHS staff”.
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| Tuesday, 21 February 2006 12:01 | | BNN: British Nursing News Online · www.bnn-online.co.uk |
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The care of NHS patients could be compromised if nurses are not given a 3 per cent pay increase, the Royal College of Nursing has warned.
The government has recommended a pay rise of 2 per cent but a survey of more than 1,000 nurses revealed that a third would consider refusing to accept unpaid overtime if awarded a rise of less than 3 per cent.
Nurses work an average of 6.5 unpaid hours a week, and the NHS could lose £8 million a week if pay demands are not met, the RCN said.
The survey also revealed that 10 per cent of nurses would stop completing paperwork and eight per cent would be willing to strike if they received an “unfair” pay award.
The RCN said nurses were angry about the chancellor’s recommendation, which is supported by the health secretary, that the 2006 pay award for nurses and other public sector workers should be based on the 2 per cent inflation target.
RCN general secretary Beverly Malone said: "Withdrawing goodwill in any form is not something nurses do lightly. The fact that many would consider it reflects the sheer frustration of nurses across the UK, who feel ignored and undervalued by the government.
"The NHS is reliant on nurses' goodwill and commitment, which leads many to work almost an entire day for no pay. But it seems this vital contribution is to be disregarded and go unrewarded.
"The chancellor must now recognise that the offer of a 2% pay settlement is simply not enough. It fails to reflect nurses' skill and dedication in delivering high quality patient care, and moreover it fails to cover the true costs of living."
Health Minister Rosie Winterton said: "Nursing has never been a more attractive profession - increased pay and extended roles for nursing coupled with improved access to flexible working and affordable childcare has encouraged an extra 78,660 nurses to join the NHS since 1997.
"The government has invested over £1bn to improve pay and working conditions in the NHS and nurses have benefited hugely from this.
"Nurses joining the profession can now expect to earn £18,114, an increase of 51% since 1997."
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| Wednesday, 15 February 2006 10:08 | | BNN: British Nursing News Online · www.bnn-online.co.uk |
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One in four student nurses drop out of training before they qualify, costing the NHS £57 million a year, latest figures have revealed.
Drop out rates are worst in London and the south-east, and among students taking four-year degrees rather than three-year diplomas.
The Royal College of Nursing believes this is due to the fact that degree course students in England are means tested and so receive a maximum bursary of £2,837, whereas those taking diplomas receive £6,859 regardless of their finances.
In addition to financial pressures, the burden of childcare and bad experiences of ward rounds are though to be the main reasons for the high drop out rate.
The figures were revealed by the Nursing Standard, which requested attrition rates from all 83 UK institutions teaching nursing from 2000 to 2004. Six did not comply and 17 were excluded for giving the wrong information.
Of the 19,995 nursing students whose courses were due to finish in 2004, 4,956 (24.8 per cent) dropped out. Southern England, Scotland and London - all with high living costs - saw drop out rates of 30 per cent. The drop out rate in Wales was 17 per cent and in Northern Ireland just 9 per cent.
The RCN's student adviser, Susan Watt, said the figures highlighted the need for an end to means testing for student nurses, many of whom have childcare obligations. "The average student nurse is 28 or 29, often with caring responsibilities and they're having to live on very little money."
The Department of Health said its own figures suggested an attrition rate of just 16 per cent for 2003-04, although it admitted to not tracking students throughout their courses, so its figure is an estimate.
"We now have 78,660 more nurses working in the NHS than in 1997 as well as a 67% increase in the number of nurses entering training between 1996-97 and 2004-05," the health minister Lord Warner said.
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| Sunday, 05 February 2006 09:19 | | BNN: British Nursing News Online · www.bnn-online.co.uk |
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Under plans drawn up by nurses' leader’s patients who want to harm themselves could be given clean blades and advice on where to cut.
Senior nurses working with mental health patients have drawn up the proposals for "safe self-harm" to be debated in April by the Royal College of Nursing.
If the nurses' proposals are adopted, patients could be taken to a safe place where they would be watched and given advice while they cut themselves.
Ian Hulatt, mental health adviser for the RCN, said: "There is a clear comparison with giving clean needles to reduce HIV. We will be debating introducing a similar harm-reduction approach.
"This may well include the provision of clean dressing packs and it may mean providing clean sharps.
"Nurses who encounter individuals who self-harm on a regular basis face a dilemma. Do they go for prohibition - or do we allow this to occur in a way that minimises harm?"
Mr Hulatt was backed by Jeremy Bore, vice-chairman of the RCN's prison forum, who said: "We should give patients clean blades and a clean environment to self-harm, and then access to good-quality dressings.
"My instinct is that it is better to sit with the patient and talk to them while they are self-harming. We should definitely give advice on safer parts of the body to cut.
"It could get to the state where we could have a discussion with the patient about how deep the cuts were going to be, and how many”.
The Patients Association criticised the proposal. Katherine Murphy, the organisation's director of communications, said: "Supplying individuals who self-harm with blades cannot be good for them. By giving self-harmers the tools they need, the nurses could be seen as encouraging individuals to harm themselves”.
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| Thursday, 19 January 2006 09:56 | | BNN: British Nursing News Online · www.bnn-online.co.uk |
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NHS cutbacks prompted by a financial crisis have resulted in patients receiving a reduced standard of care in three-quarters of hospitals, a poll of trust chief executives has found.
The survey revealed 63 per cent of acute hospital trusts have been forced to close wards in the struggle to control finances, while a quarter have made staff redundant and three quarters have frozen recruitment.
The 117 chief executives of NHS hospitals and primary care trusts who responded to the Health Service Journal poll cast doubt minister’s claims that deficits can be wiped out by better managements and cuts in non-clinical posts.
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said last month that a quarter of trusts were forecasting deficits and the NHS was facing a collective overspend of £623 million. Action to contain spending would reduce this to £200 million by the end of March, she said.
But the survey showed 37 per cent of trusts expect to be in deficit, with many going to extreme lengths to disguise deficits through creative accountancy.
The Royal College of Nursing recently published a survey suggesting the NHS deficit could reach £1.2 billion in spite of cutbacks, leading to the loss of 4,000 posts.
It said: "Some trusts are taking actions which have a direct and detrimental effect on patients. These include halting operations, postponing outpatient appointments and closing beds."
The Department of Health dismissed both surveys. It said the HSJ's poll was "small and selective" and the RCN figures were "back-of-an-envelope calculations".
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