Matter for Discussion: Safe staffing

Members can view a recording of the debate here.

The major development for England in 2021 was the laying of the Health and Care Bill in parliament. At the time of publication, the UK Government has rejected amendments seeking to introduce legal accountability with the Secretary of State for Health and Care for the provision of workforce (led by the RCN), as well as assessing workforce requirements of the health care system (RCN and more than 100 other organisations). The RCN continues to seek support from parliamentarians for several amendments to the bill, reflecting the RCN’s principles for staffing for safe and effective care. 

In Wales, the RCN campaigned alongside 16 other organisations for change to the Health and Social Care (Quality and Engagement) (Wales) Act 2020. Now, NHS health boards must report annually on how they have improved the quality of care in terms of workforce numbers, skills, and planning, according to the health care standards. 

In 2021, the RCN secured the Welsh Government’s commitment to extend section 25B of the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016 to include children’s inpatient wards. Later this year, the RCN will launch a public campaign to challenge the Welsh Government to extend safe staffing legislation into community, mental health, and care homes. 

In Scotland, the Health and Care (Staffing) Act received royal assent in June 2019, addressing the RCN’s five principles for staffing for safe and effective care. The RCN’s Protect the Future of Nursing manifesto for the Scottish Parliament elections in May 2021 emphasised the need for the implementation, which had been delayed due to the pandemic. Since 2020, the focus has been to ensure that staffing arrangements during the pandemic have been made in accordance with existing processes under the National Health Service Reform (Scotland) Act 2004. 

In Northern Ireland, 2020 began with RCN members engaged in strike action to secure measures to promote safe and effective care, as well as pay parity with England. The new health minister met immediately with trade unions to try to end the industrial dispute. As a result, a new safe staffing framework was agreed with the endorsement of the full Northern Ireland Executive, addressing all the demands made by RCN members. Since then, pre-registration nursing and midwifery commissioned places have increased by 300 per year between 2020-2021 and 2022-2023. The RCN is currently engaged in extensive lobbying to refocus the attention of policy makers on the development of safe nurse staffing legislation, to be delivered within the current Northern Ireland Assembly mandate. 

The development of the RCN Nursing Workforce Standards (2021) set the standard for the nursing workforce in all settings and provides a blueprint to tackle staffing shortages. 
Discussing this matter at Congress will enable members to highlight the achievements to date, consider areas that require additional work, and enable members to contribute to the campaign, build on its success and share learning from across the UK.

Reading lists for each agenda item can be found here.

References

Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2019/6/contents/enacted (Accessed 22 April 2022)

Health and Social Care (Quality and Engagement) (Wales) Act 2020. Available at: https://gov.wales/health-and-social-care-quality-and-engagement-wales-act-summary  (Accessed 22 April 2022)

National Health Service Reform (Scotland) Act 2004. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2004/7/contents (Accessed 22 April 2022)

Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016: statutory guidance (version 2). Available at: https://gov.wales/nurse-staffing-levels-wales-act-2016-statutory-guidance-version-2-html (Accessed 22 April 2022)

Royal College of Nursing (2021) Nursing workforce standards: supporting a safe and effective nursing workforce. Available at: https://www.rcn.org.uk/Professional-Development/publications/rcn-workforce-standards-uk-pub-009681 (Accessed 22 April 2022)