Health
ED’s Unsafe Staffing Levels
NHS England reports that up to 50,000 nursing vacancies are going unfilled.
Registered nurse staff levels at Noble’s Emergency Department did not meet safe standards in any month during 2022.
The figures, requested by David Ashford (Douglas North), further highlight the immense strain on the island’s nurses and the wider health and care system.
Mr Ashford asked Health Minister Lawrie Hooper what percentage of A&E shifts were fully staffed, less tan 80% staffed and less than 50% staffed throughout 2022.
In his answer, Mr Hooper said the Healthroster System, which manages nursing staff across Noble’s and Ramsey hospitals, is designed to ‘indicate a risk to safe and high-quality care where staffing levels fall below 85%’. He said this is Manx Care’s target ‘fill rate’.
He said: ‘A level above an average of 85% but below 100% is considered a risk, but is acceptable in most locations. 100% indicates staffing was satisfactory and as planned.’
And added: ‘During the 12-months ended December 31 2022, registered nurse staffing levels did not meet safe standards in any month within ED.’
The figures were as follows:
January 72%, February 73%, March 72%, April 69%, May 72%, June 71%, July 65%, August 67%, September 63%, October 61%, November 69% and December 63%.
Mr Hooper said: ‘Recruiting to nursing vacancies, which currently stands at around 20%, is one of Manx Care’s key priorities therefore a multimodal action plan has been devised and is currently being implemented.’
The Lib Vannin leader also pointed out that this issue is in no way exclusive to the Isle of Man, with NHS trusts in England reporting there is almost 50,000 vacancies across the board.
What Next?
The DHSC and Manx Care is working to improve the situation on island, as they seek to improve recruitment levels and on-island training.
The action plan includes looking to recruit nurses and midwives from countries across Europe and further afield, a ‘significant increase in the numbers of nursing staff trained on island through an expansion of the capacity of the Nursing Higher Education Team’, scheme for Manx students to undertake training and allied professions that aren’t offered on island, such as midwifery and paediatric nursing and an increased presence at nursing recruitment fairs and other such events to increase the profile of the island as a place to live.
The work will also include boosting the online presence of nursing and other vacancies in line with Locate.im.
