Hundreds of senior and specialist nursing posts lost across England

Nursing Standard exclusive

More than a quarter of NHS trusts in England have cut senior nursing posts, Nursing Standard has discovered.

A freedom of information request found that, in the past five years, 30 out of 114 trusts (26.3%) cut their number of nursing posts at band 7 or 8 – with a loss of 535 full-time equivalent (FTE) posts.

In addition, 12 trusts (10.5%) reduced their number of clinical nurse specialists between 2011 and 2015.

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust chief nurse Mike Wright said the loss of 80 FTE band 7 or 8 posts at his trust – the highest among these figures – was for a number of reasons, including ‘service transformation work and ward reconfigurations’. He added: ‘We are confident we have the appropriate number of senior nursing staff.’

An East Cheshire NHS Trust spokesperson said the loss of 21 FTE band 7 or 8 nursing posts there related to some staff, such as health visitors, transferring to other trusts.

Although other trusts lost up to 40 clinical nurse specialist posts over the period, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust saw the highest percentage drop (30.9%), with numbers falling from 55 to 38.

However, the trust’s deputy director of human resources Michael Kelly said this was due to restructuring, with some services merged and others moved out of the trust.

The RCN’s 2015 Frontline First report said the loss of senior nurse posts meant the NHS was ‘losing skills, experience, ward leadership and those who can mentor and lead the next generation of nurses’.

Speaking about the latest figures, the RCN’s head of policy Howard Catton said it was important to look at what was happening below the headline numbers that show increases in the nursing workforce.

‘The government says there are 8,000 more nurses now, which is actually giving false assurance we have enough nurses,’ he said. ‘We have to delve down and look at what is happening to different grades. The loss of band 7s and 8s represents a loss of skill, experience and expertise, which we know is critical to patient safety.’

Patients Association chief executive Katherine Murphy said the implications for patient safety could be huge.

NHS Employers employment services director Sue Covill acknowledged that senior nursing roles were good for patient care and staff retention.

‘There are areas of clinical practice and models of service delivery where it makes sense to have higher specialist or advanced practice nursing roles in place,’ she said.

A Department of Health spokesperson said it has invested £40 million to create ‘the nursing leaders of the future’ and £5 million to encourage experienced nurses who have left the profession to return to the workforce.

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