NHS beds boost likely to pile added pressure on nurses
Posted 15 August 2023 - 12:57
£250 million plan to increase acute capacity ahead of winter – at a time of chronic nurse shortage – poses questions about how safe staffing can be achieved in England’s NHS
Nursing staff will be face additional pressure as the government looks to provide 900 extra acute beds ahead of winter, health leaders warn.
The government plans to pump £250 million into the NHS in England in a bid to boost acute capacity and tackle record waiting lists before winter. Thirty NHS providers are expected to share the funding, which will support development or expansion of urgent treatment centres and same-day emergency care services.
Health and social care secretary Steve Barclay said: ‘Creating additional hospital capacity will support staff to provide the best possible care and treat patients more quickly, helping us to improve waiting times.’
‘Extra capacity without extra staff means more overworking’
Alison Leary, professor of healthcare and workforce modelling, London South Bank University
Nurse retention key to reducing patient waiting times
But with 40,000 nursing vacancies in England’s health service, questions remain about how these beds will be staffed.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said nursing staff are already under unsustainable pressure.
‘Nursing staff are already spread too thinly over too many patients. It is leaving our patients receiving lower-quality care, often in inappropriate settings, and our colleagues burnt out and heading towards the door,’ she said.
‘If the prime minister is serious about cutting waiting times, he should not ignore the nursing staff walking out of the profession. He will continue to fail to meet his pledge to cut NHS waiting times if nursing is not seen as an attractive, well-paid profession to join or stay in.’
Increasing bed numbers but not staff means nurses will be spread more thinly
London South Bank University professor of healthcare and workforce modelling Alison Leary echoed calls for the government to address retention issues and working conditions ‘as a matter of urgency’.
‘Capital investment is necessary so this is welcome, but it’s a modest sum and without staff the extra areas could end up redundant,’ she told Nursing Standard.
‘We have heard how increasing beds but not increasing staff means registered nurses have to look after more patients. As we know, the workforce is already suffering from overwork, and extra capacity without extra staff means more overworking.’
Social care reform essential
NHS Providers and NHS Confederation welcomed the commitment of extra beds and capacity, but question how they will be safely staffed.
NHS Providers director of policy and strategy Miriam Deakin said beds were ‘one piece of a much larger puzzle’.
‘Not only will they need to be staffed, but underlying issues including workforce shortages, a lack of investment in capital and the desperate need for social care reform will ultimately hinder progress unless also addressed,’ she said.
Speaking on GB News health minister Will Quince said hospitals where the new beds are to be created have set out how they plan to staff them.
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