Professor John Robertson OBA
From the Times, three days ago, the above graph reveals that those health trusts in England which are increasingly using less qualified staff rather than fully registered nurses to care for patients, have been responsible for higher death rates than they should have, in clear contrast to those trusts which have not done so.
Hospitals which have cut registered nurses or replaced them with lower-paid staff have seen a surge in death rates, a major study has revealed. The research, which analysed staffing at 122 NHS trusts over four years, revealed dangerous variations.
Nicola Ranger, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, said it proved degree-educated registered nurses were essential to patients’ safety and she called for NHS England to investigate trusts where deaths had risen. She demanded the government boost nurses’ pay and career progression, warning “the clock is ticking” for ministers to act.
The study showed a trend where hospitals that cut nursing care since 2020 experienced an increase in deaths. Other trusts which invested in nurses saw death rates fall. Where hospitals tried to plug nursing gaps with lower-paid staff they still saw higher deaths.
Directly comparable data with Scotland is not available, as far as I can see but these are and they matter in the same way:
NHS England has 8.2 nurses per 1 000 population but Scotland has 12.3, a shocking 50% more.1
Consequences? Returning to the table at the top and comparing with NHS Scotland data, no large Scottish board (excluding tiny statistically outlying areas like the Western and Northern Isles), only NHS Lanarkshire at 8% and Lothian at 4%, had more deaths than predicted. All of the others had fewer.2
Sources:
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The only thing I could say about North Lanarkshire S.N.H.S is that when my wife was terminally ill earlier this year, the care from that organisation was first class, I opted to keep her at home, and the Hospital at Home service, headed by a doctor, was magnificent. That allied to the support from the Cumbernauld Community Nursing Team was also first class, visiting every day. Without their support I could not have coped. Of course I should also thank the Scottish Government for making such resources available, and completely free of charge. Well done to all.
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