Nurses among 60,000 at risk of cuts

MORE than 60,000 frontline jobs in the NHS, including those of nurses, are at risk of being axed because of spending cuts, with almost half already gone, according to “stark” figures revealed in a new study.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said community nurses were among those facing cuts, which meant that government plans to move care from acute hospitals to community sites were a “façade”.

The RCN said 61,000 posts were at risk of being cut across the UK, including nursing and other jobs, with 26,000 already lost in the two years to April.

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In Scotland, ministers claims the number of community nurses is increasing north of the Border. However, RCN Scotland warned the figures are misleading because of the way they are calculated.

It says that, while more nurses are moving out of big hospitals and are working in the community in patients’ homes, the total number of nurses has fallen.

Overall, RCN Scotland says staffing levels are at their lowest since 2006, with the loss of 1,639 frontline nursing jobs – a drop of 2.8 per cent since 2010. A further 400 jobs are to go in Glasgow and Greater Clyde, it says.

The RCN said nurses are discouraged, face higher workloads and have less time to spend with patients. According to research carried out among nurses working in the community in Scotland, 61 per cent said staffing levels had decreased, 78 per cent said their caseload had increased, and 49 per cent said they were spending less time with patients than they were a year ago.

One Scottish senior charge nurse quoted said: “I find it increasingly difficult to manage my clinical duties in the time I have, but am under pressure to do more and more. We SCNs have also been threatened with disciplinary action if we do not fulfil all our obligations.”

The loss of so many jobs showed the “weakness” of UK government pledges to protect the front line, the RCN said, ahead of its annual conference in Harrogate this week.

Community services, covering district and mental health nurses and those who visit patients in their own homes, were being “overburdened”, the RCN said.

Cuts and under-investment risk creating a “revolving door” for patients, who are discharged from hospital, only to find there is no support in the community, so they have to be readmitted to hospital, it warned.

Theresa Fyffe, RCN Scotland director, said: “Cuts to the number of nurses have brought us back to the level of 2006.

“That is worrying at a time when we are trying to shift from the acute model. We are not seeing a corresponding shift over to the community.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Figures show there are now around 10,600 nurses working in communities across Scotland, 2,400 more than in 2006.

“More adult health and social care services are being provided closer to home and more health staff are set to work in the community as this shift in the balance of care gathers pace.

“A Scotland-wide modernising community nursing programme supports NHS boards to meet community care needs through a development approach that will provide high quality person-centred care.”