Critical care nursing: what’s needed to boost numbers and morale?

Why retention must be the first step on a rocky road ahead post-COVID-19, and the role of pay and career progression in building a pipeline of future staff

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the advanced and complex skills of critical care nurses, and their vital role in patient safety.

In the UK, intensive care unit (ICU) capacity expanded by more than 2,000 beds in the year to January 2021 , without a commensurate increase in critical care nurse staffing levels; ICU nurse-to-patient ratios were stretched to breaking point .

Appropriate pay and career opportunities are key to retention

The cumulative trauma faced by critical care nurses working under these pressures