Patients are being left to fend for themselves in hospital amid a “dangerous” nursing shortage, a new report reveals.
Research by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) suggests that only a third of shifts have enough nurses on duty.
The shortage means staff often end up caring for dozens of patients at a time, and experts are calling for safety-critical limits on the number of patients a single nurse can be responsible for.
A survey of more than 11,000 nursing staff found many were demoralized by not being able to keep patients safe, RCN said.
In hospitals and community settings, only a third said their shift had the expected number of registered nurses.
Patients are dying alone in hospital amid a “dangerous” nursing shortage, a new report from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) reveals.
And a significant number of emergency and outpatient nurses reported having more than 51 patients to care for.
A nurse working in the community in the south west of England said: “There are days when we have 60 unallocated visits because we don’t have enough staff.”
“We are always in a hurry.”
Another in the south of England said: ‘We are leaving over 50 patients requiring care unattended daily due to lack of staff.
“This is leading to an increase in hospital admissions and deaths. It is up to us to decide who gets care and who doesn’t, which is heartbreaking.”
At a West Midlands hospital, a nurse said: ‘I haven’t been able to sit with patients who are dying, which means I’ve left them to die alone.
“I haven’t had time to make sure that patients are getting the right food and drinks.”
And a midwife at a Yorkshire hospital said: “Completely unsafe care due to unacceptable staffing levels.”
Professor Nicola Ranger, acting general secretary of the RCN, said nurses were “fighting a losing battle to keep patients safe” and described staffing levels as “dangerous for patients and demoralising for nursing staff”.
He added: “We desperately need urgent investment in the nursing workforce, but also to see safety-critical nurse-patient ratios enshrined in law.
“This is how we improve care and prevent patients from harm.”
Professor Nicola Ranger, acting general secretary of the RCN, said nurses were “fighting a losing battle to keep patients safe”.