Positive thinking

   Anne Marie Rafferty, King's College London Nursing is often seen as the beating heart of the NHS. But, if recent media reports are anything to judge by, the beating heart is badly in need of a cardiologist. Outsiders looking in would rightly be puzzled by the UK government’s policy for planning the largest workforce in the NHS, and the apparent chaos, contradiction and confusion that has characterised the process. Nothing seems to make sense. For example, we have been under-producing nurses in England over the past decade at a time when demand for care – due to a growing elderly population and an increase in people with multiple long-term illnesses – has increased. Many of our counterparts in developed countries, such as the US, Australia, Belgium and Finland, have been boosting recruitment to meet the growth in demand. Significantly, the number of doctors in England has expanded by 20% over the past decade to meet growth in demand, so it is not si...

Kristján Kristjánsson, University of Birmingham It’s no secret that the NHS is under a critical amount of pressure . Latest reports indicate that 24,000 nursing positions are vacant and our new research shows experienced nurses are facing serious challenges in the job because of increased demands on their time. Our new research report reveals that NHS pressures are hindering ethical practice and caring among UK nurses – with eight in ten nurses questioned saying that they were not always able to work in a caring and compassionate manner. The findings show that staff reductions, time pressures, bed management and administrative tasks are all stopping nurses from being able to spend the amount of time they would like with each patient. Many nurses also reported that conflicting demands on their time left them feeling as though they were not able to offer care in as compassionate a way as they would like. Some said they are reduced to tears on a daily basis and tha...