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A four-day week for NHS staff? Here’s what nurses think

Nursing Standard readers share their views on the proposal, with many suggesting the benefits but some saying a decent pay rise and proper breaks are more urgently needed
Photo of nurses on a break, which some survey respondents said was more needed than a four-day week

Nursing Standard readers share their views on the proposal, with many suggesting the benefits but some saying a decent pay rise and proper breaks are more urgently needed

Photo of nurses on a break, which some survey respondents said was more needed than a four-day week
‘The lack of breaks needs to be looked at’, wrote one nurse. Picture: Charles Milligan

Calls for a four-day working week in the NHS have drawn mixed reviews from nurses, with many suggesting proper breaks and a decent pay rise would boost staff retention.

While Nursing Standard readers agreed that a shorter working week would provide a better work-life balance and improve their mental health, some said nurse-to-patient ratios would need to be considered before rotas could be changed.

Campaign group outlines benefits of four-day week

The comments come after campaign group 4 Day Week called on NHS employers to trial a 32-hour, four-day working week for a year, with staff in the trial staying on the same pay they are currently earning.

The group argued it would dramatically boost recruitment and retention in the health service, and reduce the NHS’s reliance on expensive bank and agency staff to plug workforce gaps.

These nurses agreed:

Many nurses already work four days a week for longer 12-hour shifts. Some said a shorter shift pattern and having greater flexibility in shifts would go a long way to keeping nurses in the workforce.

Nurse cites ‘less sick leave and increased staff well-being’ as benefits

Emergency department nurse Virginia Beckerman said: ‘A four-day working week could truly lead to retention. Removing 12-hour shifts [and] reducing to four days equals less sick leave, increased staff satisfaction and wellbeing.’

A trial of UK companies implementing a four-day week on the same wage, spearheaded by campaign group 4 Day Week, found that workers’ well-being across different sectors improved drastically, with no negative impact on productivity.

How about giving nurses ‘the pay rise we deserve’?

While a shorter working week would be welcomed by many, it is no surprise that nurses said a decent pay rise and being able to take proper breaks would be a better place to start.

Mental health nurse Margie wrote: ‘The bursary needs to be put back in place and we need the pay rise we deserve so patients are safe and staff are not leaving due to not being able to afford the massive cost of living crisis.’

ICU nurse Lara Capybara said: ‘Oh my actual goodness. A decent pay proposal. That's all we actually need. I wish people would stop spending money fannying around and trying to do everything but that.’

Meanwhile senior sister Katy Garland said that while a four-day week was a good idea in theory, it would create ‘gaps’ in her department’s rota as there would not be enough nursing staff to fill shifts:


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