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THE UK spends relatively little on healthcare resources such as nursing staff compared with other wealthy countries and this contributes to a ‘mediocre’ performance. That is the view of analysts from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), who compared the NHS to the healthcare systems of 29 other affluent countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The UK had 2.8 doctors and 8.2 nurses per 10,000 of the population in 2012, compared with OECD averages of 3.2 and 8.9 respectively, making it 28th out of the 30 countries for resourcing. The EIU’s report states that the UK’s investment in health care and staffing is ‘worrying’. ‘The UK is not a particularly generous spender on health care, but when it comes to concrete resources it fares even worse,’ the report states.
i Find out more Read the report at tiny.cc/EIU_NHS_report
Unison conference hears call to retain 12-hour shifts A UNION representative has expressed reservations about a prospective study into the effects of working 12-hour shifts because she fears it could lead to their abolition. At Unison’s annual health conference in Liverpool in April, members voted for a study to be commissioned to assess the impact of working long shifts instead of the standard eight hours. The study will look at the health and wellbeing of staff, work-life balance, safety, quality of service delivery and cost. Staff side representative at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, Jane Pilgrim said she fears the
Barney Newman
‘Worrying UK health care’ is 28th out of 30 richest countries
‘Carrying the lamp made me feel proud to be a nurse’ CHIEF NURSE Sam Foster (pictured) carried the ceremonial lamp at the 2015 Florence Nightingale commemoration service, held at Westminster Abbey, London, last month. Ms Foster, who works at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, was among 2,000 people who attended the service ahead of International Nurses’ Day. The ceremony marked the 50th anniversary of the service to celebrate Miss Nightingale’s life and work. study could lead to 12-hour shifts being banned, which would be unpopular with her colleagues. ‘Staff want 12-hour shifts and work opposite their husbands who do 12-hour shifts. They cannot arrange their childcare cover without them. I am worried that we will reach a place where they are abolished and I wonder how I will accommodate the hordes of people who come screaming at my door that they want them back.’
Nurses receive inadequate training in duty of candour EMPLOYERS IN England are telling nurses to write to patients or families apologising for care failings without being given appropriate training and education on the statutory duty of candour, the RCN’s director of legal services has said.
Ms Foster said: ‘In the acute sector, much of the job is challenging, as you often have to defend your reputation as a nurse. Carrying the lamp felt like something very positive, and it made me feel proud to be a nurse.’ She was joined in the procession by nursing students from the universities of Bangor, Swansea, Cardiff and South Wales. For more information about the Florence Nightingale Foundation, visit www.florencenightingale-foundation.org.uk The duty of candour, which was introduced in England in November, requires providers who are registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to be open and transparent with patients about incidents that cause them harm. RCN legal director Chris Cox said he has seen evidence that many healthcare employers in England are not providing appropriate training to help staff understand the duty. He has heard of instances where healthcare practitioners in the health service, including nurses, are simply instructed to write to a patient or their family to apologise for the patient getting a pressure ulcer. ‘One community nurse was told to write to the family of a deceased patient who, when admitted to hospital, had a pressure ulcer,’ said Mr Cox. ‘She did not know why she was being told to do that or why she was being asked to apologise. That is an inadequacy of training and support.’
NURSING MANAGEMENT June 2015 | Volume 22 | Number 3 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Feb 04, 2016. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2016 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
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THE UK spends relatively little on healthcare resources such as nursing staff compared with other wealthy countries and this contributes to a ‘mediocre’ performance. That is the view of analysts from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), who compared the NHS to the healthcare systems of 29 other affluent countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The UK had 2.8 doctors and 8.2 nurses per 10,000 of the population in 2012, compared with OECD averages of 3.2 and 8.9 respectively, making it 28th out of the 30 countries for resourcing. The EIU’s report states that the UK’s investment in health care and staffing is ‘worrying’. ‘The UK is not a particularly generous spender on health care, but when it comes to concrete resources it fares even worse,’ the report states.
i Find out more Read the report at tiny.cc/EIU_NHS_report
Unison conference hears call to retain 12-hour shifts A UNION representative has expressed reservations about a prospective study into the effects of working 12-hour shifts because she fears it could lead to their abolition. At Unison’s annual health conference in Liverpool in April, members voted for a study to be commissioned to assess the impact of working long shifts instead of the standard eight hours. The study will look at the health and wellbeing of staff, work-life balance, safety, quality of service delivery and cost. Staff side representative at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, Jane Pilgrim said she fears the
Barney Newman
‘Worrying UK health care’ is 28th out of 30 richest countries
‘Carrying the lamp made me feel proud to be a nurse’ CHIEF NURSE Sam Foster (pictured) carried the ceremonial lamp at the 2015 Florence Nightingale commemoration service, held at Westminster Abbey, London, last month. Ms Foster, who works at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, was among 2,000 people who attended the service ahead of International Nurses’ Day. The ceremony marked the 50th anniversary of the service to celebrate Miss Nightingale’s life and work. study could lead to 12-hour shifts being banned, which would be unpopular with her colleagues. ‘Staff want 12-hour shifts and work opposite their husbands who do 12-hour shifts. They cannot arrange their childcare cover without them. I am worried that we will reach a place where they are abolished and I wonder how I will accommodate the hordes of people who come screaming at my door that they want them back.’
Nurses receive inadequate training in duty of candour EMPLOYERS IN England are telling nurses to write to patients or families apologising for care failings without being given appropriate training and education on the statutory duty of candour, the RCN’s director of legal services has said.
Ms Foster said: ‘In the acute sector, much of the job is challenging, as you often have to defend your reputation as a nurse. Carrying the lamp felt like something very positive, and it made me feel proud to be a nurse.’ She was joined in the procession by nursing students from the universities of Bangor, Swansea, Cardiff and South Wales. For more information about the Florence Nightingale Foundation, visit www.florencenightingale-foundation.org.uk The duty of candour, which was introduced in England in November, requires providers who are registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to be open and transparent with patients about incidents that cause them harm. RCN legal director Chris Cox said he has seen evidence that many healthcare employers in England are not providing appropriate training to help staff understand the duty. He has heard of instances where healthcare practitioners in the health service, including nurses, are simply instructed to write to a patient or their family to apologise for the patient getting a pressure ulcer. ‘One community nurse was told to write to the family of a deceased patient who, when admitted to hospital, had a pressure ulcer,’ said Mr Cox. ‘She did not know why she was being told to do that or why she was being asked to apologise. That is an inadequacy of training and support.’
NURSING MANAGEMENT June 2015 | Volume 22 | Number 3 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Feb 04, 2016. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2016 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
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