Trust in staffing crisis as eight ICU nurses quit in just two weeks

Resignations are part of an ongoing exodus of staff at Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

Eight highly skilled intensive care (ICU) nurses have resigned from one trust in the past two weeks and more could follow, a leading nurse has warned.

More resignations expected as working conditions remain unsustainable

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland has confirmed it is redeploying non-specialist nursing staff to fill the gaps in staffing on ICU wards, with experienced ICU nurses expected to provide supervision.

RCN Northern Ireland director Rita Devlin said the college has heard others at the trust are ‘considering their position’.

‘These are highly skilled nurses who are difficult to replace and this is a very worrying situation,’ she said.

‘Nursing staff are doing everything they can to keep services going, but it is not sustainable to work under such pressure for long periods of time without a break.’

• RELATED: Trust agrees to invest £2.6 million in keeping wards safely staffed

Trust describes ‘worsening position’ as staff are redeployed to critical care

The resignations come just months after it was revealed that 182 nurses and 50 healthcare assistants had quit their jobs at the trust between January and July.

A spokesperson for the trust said it was experiencing a ‘worsening position’ amid resignations, increased levels of staff absence due to vacancies, and higher rates of sickness due to COVID-19.

Alongside ICU nurses being asked to supervise non-specialist staff, nurses are working additional hours and the trust has increased its spend on agency staff.

‘The ongoing requirement for critical care nurses to supervise redeployed nurses inevitably places an additional burden on staff working in this highly specialised area,’ the spokesperson said.

‘We are all immensely grateful to all our staff for their commitment and dedication at this extremely challenging time.’

RCN is helping to strengthen Northern Ireland’s nurse retention strategy

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust has implemented a range of measures to better support staff including daily safety huddles; rest rooms; weekly staff engagement sessions supported by occupational health, psychology and trust HR teams; and access to trade union colleagues.

• RELATED: Nurses must prioritise their mental health after pandemic burnout

Ms Devlin warned that Northern Ireland cannot afford to lose more nurses on top of its current 2,700 vacancies, adding that the college is working with the Northern Ireland Department of Health to develop a retention strategy across the health service.

Belfast Health and Social Care is not the only trust to have experienced mass nurse resignations in recent months.

More than 100 intensive care nurses at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, where prime minister Boris Johnson was treated for COVID-19, quit in a seven-month period.

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