The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said the public should be able to view a list of NHS workers’ concerns about patient safety. The call comes as the College reveals that whistleblower nurses have been raising serious concerns about patient safety each week for the past year.
Through its “Raising Concerns, Raising Standards” hotline, the RCN has heard from nurses who have fears over patient care at their Trusts. The line was intended for use only as a last resort for nurses who were worried about raising concerns with their Trust or who had exhausted all internal procedures.
Calls to the hotline reveal that nurses are frequently concerned about having insufficient time available to complete work safely, and about serious understaffing affecting patient care.
Since the beginning of the year, nurses have increasingly said they are worried about decisions driven by financial concerns – something that is likely to become more acute as Trusts begin their drive to find £15 - £20 billion of savings by 2014.
As a result of nurses’ fears and to drive up standards, the RCN is calling for Trusts to be compelled to hold a register of staff concerns and make the themes of these available to the public. The College is also urging Trust boards to prioritise patient safety through the coming financial period and to hold regular board-level reviews of staff concerns.
RCN chief executive and general secretary, Dr Peter Carter, said:“It is deeply worrying that not a week goes by without a nurse calling in with serious concerns. It is a sad indictment of the pressure nurses find themselves under that any nurse says they have insufficient time available to complete work safely.”
