Chronic understaffing and low pay are driving nurses out of social care, with patients’ safety at risk, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned.
A new survey of RCN members working in adult social care across the UK found one in three nursing staff are either considering leaving or actively planning to quit. Half of those say they’re thinking about leaving nursing altogether.
The nursing union said the shortages are leaving vulnerable people without the care they need, with some patients missing vital medication.
Among those considering leaving, 66% cited feeling undervalued, 59% pressure at work and 54% exhaustion.
Professor Nicola Ranger, general secretary and chief executive of the RCN, said: ‘In all parts of the UK we need to see new urgency to address the crisis in social care. Everywhere you look, the lack of political leadership has left the sector neglected, and its workforce depleted and exhausted.
‘As a result, the needs of vulnerable people are going unmet, with staff caring for a totally unsafe number of people. That is dangerous and a tragedy.’
One nurse surveyed described being the only nurse for between 74 and 80 residents. She commented ‘Due to the high level of responsibility and accountability, we’re not paid properly for the job we do.’
Another nurse reported being the sole nurse on a day shift for 39 residents, stating: ‘I have to work autonomously… all decisions regarding care are mine, as is accountability.’
Nearly half of those actively planning to leave said they were considering a job outside of nursing entirely. Meanwhile, insufficient capacity in social care is also hitting hospitals, leading to increased avoidable admissions and people stuck in beds for longer due to delayed discharges.
Professor Ranger added: ‘It’s also incredibly worrying we’ve seen such a fall in the number of registered nurses in the sector. These highly skilled clinicians are crucial to delivering safe and effective care to people with complex needs.
‘At the heart of this is a workforce that hasn’t been given the value it deserves. With an ageing population, the scale of the challenge for governments across the UK has never been clearer. We need new long-term investment and a plan to build a strong nursing workforce, with swift action across the board to improve pay, terms and conditions.’
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