Nurse staffing

Research demonstrates that staffing levels are linked to the safety of care and that shortfalls increase the risks of patient harm and poor quality care.

Patients and the public have a right to know how their hospitals are being run - the Government has made a number of commitments in Hard Truths.

The CQC is  the independent regulator of health and social care in England. They will be looking for compliance with all the actions outlined as part of their inspection regime. NHS Improvement , the sector regulator for health services in England, whose job it is to make the health sector work better for patients, will act where the CQC identifies any deficiencies in staffing levels.

As a Trust we must have:

•  A Board report describing the staffing capacity and capability, following an establishment review. To be presented to the Board every six months.
•  Information about the nurses, midwives and care staff for each shift compared to what has been planned - to be displayed at ward level.
•  A Board report containing details of planned and actual staffing on a shift by-shift basis at ward level for the previous month. This is presented to the Board every month and published on our website and on the NHS website.

The Trust continues with its recruitment campaign both locally and internationally to ensure we operate on a 1:6 ratio on our wards during the day; this compares to the 1:8 used by most hospitals.

Our strategy includes fortnightly adverts on NHS jobs, specific Divisional advertisements and international recruitment.

To access the latest Board report on nurse staffing levels within the Trust, please see here.

For further detail on Hard Truths, the government’s further response to Robert Francis QC’s report on the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust public inquiry, please click here.