Wednesday 7 July 2010

Job Losses

http://news.aol.co.uk/nhs-face-job-cuts-despite-promise/article/20100706214049114132510

Thousands of NHS jobs are being cut despite Government promises to protect frontline services, a union has warned. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is aware of almost 10,000 posts that have been lost through recruitment freezes, redundancies and people not replaced when they retire, or which face cuts in the future. This is double the figure reported two months ago, although the RCN has now gathered details from more trusts......

I am willing to bet that most of these "job losses" come from qualified nurses at the bedside, providing direct patient care.  I know this is the case in my neck of the woods.  The trust hires untrained kids who have no intention of becoming Nurses to replace the real Nurses that flee.  The kids cannot do the job, and the qualified nurses left are covering too many patients.  The trust covers their asses by saying "oh yes we have hired more nurses".  They have not hired more nurses, they have hired kids and auxilliaries.

A trusted source tells me that a trust near mine has shed over 70 district nurse posts over the last few years.  This trust covers a pretty large area.  They lose them through retirement and "natural wastage" and don't replace them.  Registered Nurses are an older workforce and most of them are closer the retirement age than not. Newly qualified and job hunting older RN's are having great difficulty finding jobs at the bedside.

And so it goes.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Left nursing due to sheer frustration reference just this sort of thing i.e. insubordinate and repeatedly impertinent health care assistant who just cleared off to drink tea in the kitchen whenever she felt like it every time she noticed that I was rushed off my feet. Patients could have had CVAs etc in her absence but she obviously didn't give a damn about them or she wouldn't have done this. Management were informed about her frequent unauthorised absences from the ward but didn't take any steps to discipline her. Why not? Why won't management give nurses support and back up when they need it? (The HCA in question is probably still enjoying her unofficial extra teabreaks to this day and laughing about getting away with it - I just hope none of the patients die due to her selfishness and irresponsibility.

Nurse Anne said...

Yeah they won't discipline the cheap labour!! But they witchunt the Nurses. If an HCA does something we are told "but it's your responsibility, you are the nurse-the hca's don't know,etc etc". Yet I have more patients than I can handle.

Someone just informed me that you can go on the NMC website and see cases of Nurses getting struck off due to an HCA's actions. Off to have a look.

Anonymous said...

I'm a senior nurse and big fan of your blog Anne. Don't know if you have seen this but it scares the hell out of me.

http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/health/nationalstudies/financialmanagement/Pages/100625makingmostnhsfrontlinestaff_copy.aspx

Anonymous said...

Sorry, the whole link didn't cut and paste.

http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/health/nationalstudies/financialmanagement/Pages/100625makingmostnhsfrontlinestaff_copy.aspx

Anonymous said...

Giving up. Never mind, you can see the page I was trying to link to I'm sure.

Dino-nurse said...

Makes for interesting reading. anonymous. Quite how they have come up with the statistic of 2 beds per nurse is a mystery...I assume they are talking about total numbers of nurses per Trust, regardless of whether they are ward based or not. So we want bigger wards and a poorer skill mix eh? Big suprise (not). I have long said that we are heading towards a world where RNs only work in ICU hubs and APs and HCAs work everywhere else. Who cares if the patients suffer- the public purse will be leaner (and meaner).

Nurse Anne said...

OMG they are out of their minds. I just had a look at that. They are not taking into account the number of nurses at the bedside.

If they think that better care can be delivered with less nurses they need to be doused in petrol and lit on fire.

Thanks for the link!

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately this is being circulated to Trusts with a view to the principles being seriously considered. Luckily our director of nursing has the final veto on all nursing establishments changes and I know for a fact she won't wear it. She was given this veto earlier this year because our enlightened CEO saw the danger of another Mid Staffs. Judging by this blog, we most be one of the only Trusts in the country increasing our RN establishment, but I am guessing that's because our baseline has been fairly low for many years.

UCL Med Student said...

I wanted to post on the website comments for that NMC chief lady thing to lambast her, but you have to sign up so forget that!

arogant nurse said...

what happened to crippen? UCL Med student would get the whole multidisaplinary team on there: not just nurses. (mind you nurses are the most important people) this is why the consultant always greats me by name at the start of the ward round: but never his collegues who are all doctors. mind you he only asks my opinion at the end of each consultation: i guess if he asked at the begining he wouldnt need to conduct a grand ward round 3 times a day and then he`d have no KUDOS.

Mark In Mayenne said...

You go for it, Nurse! I owe my life to a Nurse who spotted that I wasn't breathing right when I was born. Some untrained, uninterested kid? Nah, I'd be dead, I reckon.

UCL Med Student said...

On a happier note, a doctor found my cheese and onion and text me today saying she'd post it to me.... Awww :D

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