Eight out of ten NHS nurses have gone an entire shift without a single drink of WATER because they are too busy ‘due to a lack of staff’
- Nurses said they are ‘worked to the bone’ amid staffing crisis
- They are unable to take toilet breaks and feel their well-being isn’t cared for
- A trade union said the findings show how ‘inhumane’ the NHS has been
Eight out of ten nurses have gone an entire shift without water because of chronic understaffing, a shock survey has revealed.
More than half of hundreds of nurses polled said they work through shifts without water at least once or twice a week.
They said they are being ‘worked to the bone’, unable to even take a needed toilet break.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said it was ‘inhumane’ of the NHS to allow such working conditions.
Eight out of ten nurses have gone an entire shift without a single drink of water because of chronic understaffing, according to a survey
The findings of the Nursing Standard survey were completed by 2,243 nurses in the UK.
Some 52 per cent said they went through a shift at least once a week without having any water or the chance to hydrate.
Three quarters (76 per cent) had regularly gone through a shift and not had time to take a break, the poll also found.
And more than half (56 per cent) of the nurses felt their manager was not concerned about their well-being.
One nurse, who wasn’t named, said: ‘We are worked to the bone. Breaks do not even get considered.’
‘Nurses’ breaks and hydration are never priorities,’ another nurse said, according to the specialist publication.
HOW BAD IS THE NURSING CRISIS IN THE UK?
The shortage of NHS staff in England is continuing to worsen, official figures show.
As of October 2018, there were around 41,000 nurse vacancies in NHS England, around ten per cent of nurse posts.
This is predicted to reach 70,000 by 2024 at the current rate, according to a major joint report in March by the King’s Fund, Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation.
According to Health Education England, around 33,000 of the 42,000 positions vacant in April to June in 2018 were filled temporarily by agency staff – an unwelcome extra expense for local NHS trusts.
A report by three leading health sector think-tanks estimates that if demand rises as predicted, the NHS will need 250,000 additional staff by 2030.
But if skilled workers cannot be attracted from abroad the shortage could reach 350,000 – roughly a quarter of the 1.2million workforce.
Experts say low pay and long hours are two of the main factors which make finding nursing staff difficult. This, paired with student debt, makes the profession unappealing for young people.
In January 2018 the Royal College of Nursing warned the NHS was ‘haemorrhaging nurses’, as around 3,000 more nurses quit their jobs than started new ones in 2017.
Kim Sunley, RCN’s officer for health and safety, said: ‘It is inhumane for organisations not to let staff have access to drinking water, along with breaking health and safety regulations.
‘We are aware that access to breaks is a problem, and it is a symptom of the wider issue around nursing shortages. When nurses don’t have breaks or are not hydrated, it is a patient safety issue.’
In some workplaces, staff are able to have their own water bottles or there are some ‘hydration stations’ to get a drink.
But only one in five nurses overall said they had the chance to hydrate.
Some nurses reported they are not allowed to have water bottles at work, and one was even barred from putting a jug of water in their staff room.
‘[We are] often told we can’t have water bottles at the nursing station because of the risk of infection,’ one nurse told the survey.
Nursing Standard editor Flavia Munn said: ‘It will probably shock those outside of the NHS to hear that many nurses go through an entire shift without even a sip of water.
‘But nurses start work almost expecting to end their day feeling exhausted and dehydrated having gone without a break.
‘Our survey shows staff “working to the bone” in a health service that is understaffed and overworked – the sad reality behind the 40,000 nursing vacancies in England alone.
‘This should cause outrage as these are the people who care for us and our loved-ones at times of greatest need.
‘Its high time nurses are cared for too with sufficient colleagues so that they can take a well-deserved break.’
There are around 40,000 nursing vacancies in the NHS in England, as of October 2018 figures.
This is predicted to reach 70,000 by 2024 at the current rate, according to a major joint report in March by the King’s Fund, Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation.
Think-tanks estimate the NHS will need 250,000 additional staff by 2030.
Across the NHS, there are over 320,000 nurses and midwives, according to Nuffield Trust.
Ms Sunley said: ‘We’re calling on the public in England to fight for more nurses and sign our petition calling on the Westminster Government to invest in the future workforce and make clear who is accountable in law for safe patient care.’
WHAT PRESSURES ARE THE NHS FACING?
Nursing crisis could affect patient care
As of October 2018, there were around 41,000 nurse vacancies in NHS England.
This is predicted to reach 70,000 by 2024 at the current rate, according to a major joint report in March by the King’s Fund, Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation.
Experts say low pay and long hours are two of the main factors which make finding nursing staff difficult. This, paired with student debt, makes the profession unappealing for young people.
A Royal College of Nursing poll, of 1,692 Britons, found 71 per cent think there are not enough nurses to provide safe care to patients.
Of 1,408 people polled in England, 37 per cent said their top priority for any extra NHS funding was the recruitment of more nurses.
Ageing population means more care needed
Longer lives are costing the cash-strapped NHS more money each year.
One in six of the UK population is aged 65 and over, and by 2050 it will be one in four, according to NHS England.
This group of people are at the highest risk of adverse outcomes such as falls, disability, admission to hospital, or the need for long-term care.
The King’s Fund reports that over 15million people in the UK have a chronic condition, many of whom will be elderly.
The number of patients aged 75 or over needing an NHS operation in England has doubled since 1999, a study by Queen Mary University found.
Some 1,012,000 people had surgery in 2015, a sharp rise from the 545,000 recorded before the turn of the millennium.
Bed shortages causing procedure cancellations
A record 4.4million people are waiting to go into hospital in England for a planned procedure, according to NHS England.
In comparison, a year ago there were 4.09million people on the list, and two years earlier it was 3.81million.
A&E departments are also feeling the strain as backed-up hospital beds make it harder for them to find places to put new patients, so leave them waiting on temporary beds known as ‘trolleys’.
NHS England revealed in July that the number of A&E patients stuck on trolleys waiting for an inpatient bed has increased by 70 per cent in a year.
The figure is almost treble that from four years ago.
GP surgeries closing due to doctors leaving NHS
Over the last six years, 585 practices have closed, covering a population of nearly 1.9million, according to data obtained by Pulse magazine
Experts believe the rate of surgery closures is accelerating because rising numbers of under-pressure doctors are opting for early retirement – or deciding to abandon their careers.
Despite the Government’s pledge to hire 5,000 extra GPs between by 2020, the NHS has lost almost 600 GPs in the last year.
Almost as many family doctors left the health service between June 2018 and June 2019 as did in the entire three years to March, according to NHS figures.
On top of this, a poll in February found 42 per cent of NHS GPs said they intended to leave or retire within five years, up from less than a third (32 per cent) in 2014.
The research by the University of Warwick found almost a fifth (18 per cent) said they would leave within two years.
Winter 2019/2020
Data from winter 2018/2019 reveals the NHS once again under intense pressure over the winter months.
A&E attendances and emergency admissions rise, there is dangerously high bed occupancy, and staff working over time – causing loss of morale.
Total attendances at A&E rose to 6.2million last winter – a six per cent increase from the year before. Just over 85 per cent of patients were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours – the second worst performance on record.
The average bed occupancy rate last winter remained very high, at 93.5 per cent, comparable to the previous year’s figure of 94.4 per cent.
NHS bosses have been urged to step up anti-flu preparations earlier this year after a stark rise in the number of virus cases during winter in Australia.
Top British doctors said the increase in Australia could be a sign of what is to come in the UK this winter.
Despite the looming winter months, figures suggest the NHS is now in a year-long crisis.
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