Nursing shortage now at crisis point

Viewpoint

Nursing shortages have been evident for some time, but the fact that one of the most vulnerable groups in society are now impacted is deeply troubling. Credit: Christopher Furlong

June 06 2022 11:00 AM

Since taking up the post of director of the Royal College of Nursing in Northern Ireland, Rita Devlin has repeatedly warned about the negative impact of nursing shortages.

The case for proper workforce planning was also eloquently made by her predecessors, Pat Cullen and Janice Smith.

Clearly, the warnings fell on deaf ears, for more than a decade of recruitment freezes and under-investment and have taken a toll on the health service.

Nursing shortages have been evident for some time, but the fact that one of the most vulnerable groups in society are now impacted is deeply troubling.

The situation in the Western Trust means women at risk of giving birth to a baby who will need specialist care have to go through the delivery at a hospital which may not be their first choice, one further away from home, meaning that the logistics that come with being a parent of a baby in hospital are more difficult to navigate.

Worse still, it means that women in labour may have to be transferred to another hospital in the back of an ambulance as moves along bumpy country roads — an experience no woman wants or should be expected to endure.

Furthermore, there is no guarantee that women in need of help will be taken to Altnagelvin Area Hospital. They could end up in any hospital where a special care baby cot is available at the time.

Then there is the impact on other trusts of taking on additional patients. How able are they to absorb more sick babies?

We’re told Western Trust recruitment campaigns are ongoing, but there are no guarantees they will bear fruit.

The warning from Ms Devlin that the problems are the “start of a slippery slope” is particularly concerning.

By now, everyone in Northern Ireland is more than aware of the ailing state of the health service, but the staffing woes in the Western Trust are a very tangible example of patients losing out as a result.

The Department of Health has made available funding to increase nursing numbers, but as Ms Devlin has pointed out, retention is equally as important as attracting new nurses into the profession.

We must remember that nurses working in neonatal units are experts in their field charged with keeping alive tiny babies while also supporting and advising terrified parents.

The real horror in all of this is the revelation that some of them don’t even earn as much as £26,000 a year at the same time as our MLAs are earning more than twice as much while presiding over the latest political mess.