Nurse safety: ‘serious concerns’ over driving after long shifts
Posted 09 January 2025 - 11:30
Nurse leaders and a road safety charity express concerns about nurses driving home after long shifts after a straw poll revealed that 51% had had a near miss
Long shifts could be risking safety and contributing to ‘serious accidents’ when nurses drive home from work exhausted, says a leading nurse.
RCN interim head of health, safety and well-being Kim Sunley told Nursing Standard that long shifts and a lack of breaks make for an unsafe combination on the road.
Ms Sunley said: ‘This has been a serious concern for us for a while. We are aware of healthcare professionals who have very serious accidents on the way home.'
Driving while tired after a long shift is a ‘serious concern’ says union
Out of 70 people who responded to a poll on X, 51% said they had almost had an accident when they were driving home after a long shift. And around 40% of those who responded said that while they did not have an accident or near-miss, they had felt unsafe while driving home tired. Just over 7% had been in a crash.
The RCN labelled this a ‘serious concern’ and warned that driving while tired has shown to be as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol.
Ms Sunley said that long shifts and a lack of breaks make for an unsafe combination on the road.
‘There are too many long shifts and our members often don’t leave work on time because of the pressure they are under’
Kim Sunley, RCN interim head of health, safety and well-being
‘It is the way shift patterns are designed. There are too many long shifts and our members often don’t leave work on time because of the pressure they are under. We also know that breaks are being missed.’
Healthcare employers have ‘moral duty’ to ensure staff have breaks during shifts
Ms Sunley said while the onus is on the driver to ensure they are feeling safe to drive, healthcare employers also have a ‘moral duty’ to ensure staff have breaks during shifts.
‘This is not just for driving, but for patient care as well,’ she added. ‘Employers should be making sure shift patterns are designed so that staff have adequate rest within their shifts and between changes in shifts.’
Ms Sunley suggested nurses should also check in with themselves to see if they feel safe to drive and take appropriate measures if they do not, such as speaking to a manager, having a light caffeine drink and/or having a short rest before heading off.
Drivers working shifts at high-risk of fatigue-related accidents, says accident prevention charity
According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, drivers who work shifts are at a high risk of having fatigue-related car accidents. Guidance by NHS Employers suggests the peak times for these accidents is between 2am and 6am, with nurses coming off twilight shifts often finishing at 2am.
Road safety charity IAM RoadSmart told Nursing Standard that driving when tired is dangerous.
IAM RoadSmart’s development manager Lloyd Meredith said: ‘All drivers need sleep, and the recommended duration is eight hours. The belief that we can function well on less is both dangerous and inaccurate.
‘To stay awake, workers often rely on energy drinks, opening a window, or talking, but these tactics have been proven to be ineffective. Therefore, driver fatigue needs to be addressed by management, who hold the ultimate responsibility for the safety of their workers and people they share the road with.’
In other news