NHS nurses in England ‘fear job losses or downgrades as cuts bite’, poll finds

One in twenty nurses expect to lose their post in next year while similar proportions expect fewer hours or responsibilities Almost 75,000 nurses expect to lose their jobs, have their hours cut or see their roles downgraded in the next year, according to a survey that highlights the growing impact of the NHS’s financial squeeze. Five per cent of the NHS in England’s 410,000 nurses – some 20,500 in all – believe their posts will disappear in the next 12 months. Another 24,600 anticipate a cut in hours, while another 28,700 expect to have their jobs reassessed as involving fewer responsibilities. The findings, extrapolated from a Royal College of Nursing (RCN) poll of 8,000 of its members, have prompted renewed claims that the coalition is not honouring repeated promises to protect the NHS frontline from cuts. The nurses’ fears come as more acute and mental health trusts across England decide to reduce their nursing workforce as part of efforts to help in the NHS’s £20bn cost-saving drive. For example, Plymouth hospitals NHS trust plans to cut 281 posts, including 145 nursing jobs, to save £31m this year. The RCN is concerned that 130 existing nursing vacancies at the trust have led to staff shortages in some areas of medical care, and that patient safety could be at risk. As part of plans to restructure community services in London, Camden and Islington NHS foundation trust, which deals with mental health services, will lose 69 posts, including those of nurses, psychologists and social workers. Portsmouth hospitals NHS trust aims to shed 99 posts by next April, including at least six nurses, three of which are specialist nursing posts, giving care to people with long-term medical conditions. In the RCN’s biannual employment survey: • 54% of respondents reported that staffing levels of nurses had decreased in their workplace in the past year. • 57% said they worked over and above their contracted hours either every shift or several times a week, with 16% saying that they did so every shift. Forty per cent said their employer had initiated a recruitment freeze. • 19% had seen posts disappear in the past year. • 13% had seen beds or wards closed. Dr Peter Carter, the RCN’s chief executive and general secretary, said: “Nurses are at the heart of all that is good about the NHS and this is yet more evidence that the frontline is not being protected. “We know the government wants to protect services, but nurses are wilting under the strain of longer working hours, taking on the burden on unfilled vacancies and reduced staffing levels. “All these short-term measures are likely to leave patients with longer waiting times, poor care and a worse NHS. It is absolutely critical that trusts make sure they have the right numbers and balance of staff to deal with this.” Nurses say the cuts are affecting patient care. Some 52% said they were too busy to give patients the level of care they would like to provide, while 32% said that the quality of care was

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