What is safe nurse staffing?
Safe Nursing and Midwifery staffing means that we have the right staff in the right place at the right time to provide the care that you, your friends and relatives need.
How do we do this?
Each ward or department is made up of a number of registered nurses, midwives and trained support staff. They are led by a Senior Sister / Charge Nurse or the Nurse/Midwife in charge of the shift.
Our roles have different coloured uniforms so you can be clear about our position and the roles involved in your care.
How do we know how many staff are needed on a ward?
There are a variety of evidence based (tried and tested) tools that we use to measure the dependency and needs of our patients in our wards. There are different tools for different types of patient groups, for example, adult wards, emergency departments and maternity. For other areas where there are not yet tried and tested tools, staffing levels are based on professional judgment in conjunction with national guidance where this is available.
We measure the dependency of our patients twice a year, once in the summer and once in the winter. This ensures we understand our patients’ needs at very different points in the year. Our Board receives this information to ensure it understands nurse staffing at ward level and if there are problems, they understand what these are and can work towards a solution.
How do we monitor nurse staffing levels all year round?
We use a system on the wards called electronic rostering and through this we can monitor our nurse staffing levels on a shift-by-shift basis. We use this information to inform the Trust Board about the staffing levels each month.Â
How will I know if nurse staffing is correct on the ward I am in or visiting?
There are Patient Safety Information Boards on the wards that give important information about the quality of the care that each ward delivers. On these boards you will find information about the number of registered and the numbers of support staff that should be on duty for that shift and the actual number that are on duty.
Where there are shortfalls, there is an escalation process (which is shown on the boards) explaining how we cover any shortfall that is required. This is assessed by the Nurse in Charge and the Matron. This escalation process includes the Chief Nurse when needed. Please do ask the nursing staff on your ward about the information shown on their Patient Safety Information Boards.
Ward Workforce – Safe Staffing
Each month we collect the average number of hours of registered and unregistered nursing care available to patients on a daily basis. This is available to view in the reports below, reflected as Care Hours Per Patient Day (CHPPPD).