A panicked drive to get medical workers for hospitals, after a number of damning NHS scandals, has neglected an increasing crisis in community care, the Royal College of Nursing reports.
Even after NHS plans to transfer care from hospitals, the community nursing workforce has shrunk significantly during the past five-years at the same time as the amount of nursing jobs in hospitals has risen.
The workforce is down by over 3,300 nurses, including 2,000 district nursing staff who offer care for individuals in their very own residences or residential establishments - a 28% cut to what the RCN says is a vital part of the community workforce.
In a report - The Fragile Frontline - released on Sunday , the college calls on the next govt to improve resources for community healthcare, so psychiatric and physical care may be safely given outside hospitals by a highly trained workforce.
Peter Carter, chief executive and general secretary of the RCN, said: “Whoever creates the next government needs to study this report and act immediately to grow the nursing workforce and make sure it will keep up with need with a lasting and long term plan.
“In contrast to many problems facing the health service, the answer to the nursing workforce is quite easy and is dependent on political will. With a lot more folks wanting to nurse than before, the next government has the power to raise coaching places and expand the availability of nursing staff. If it doesn't, it will be failing a generation of patients.
“As the election draws near there will be a lot of pledges, and many will be neglected. However the next govt can be assured that it'll be evaluated in 5 years’ time on whether we have a adequately financed health service that is fit for the Modern day.”
Right after Sir Robert Francis’s inquest into failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust in 2013, the connection between very poor patient care and dangerous employment levels became a sudden problem for the government to manage.
Trusts began increasing the number of nursing staff on wards all around England to act on recommendations by the Francis report as well as in response to political pressure. Between 2010 and 2014, the total nursing, midwifery and health visiting workforce has grown because of this.
However, the push to renew employment levels was mostly limited to intense, maternity and neo-natal and paediatric nursing settings, it's reported by the RCN. Mental health settings have instead lost 3,986 nursing posts and learning disability settings have lost 1,586.
In 2011 the government brought out the health visiting programme, geared towards raising the number of health visitors to in excess of 12,200 by March 2015. There has been a rise of 2,691 health visitors since May 2010, bringing the total to 10,783 in December 2014. However, after the effect of health visitors is subtracted, community settings like care homes have lost 3,332 certified nursing posts.
The RCN suggests in its report that, whilst it supports increases to the health visiting workforce, this should “not be at the expense of other roles that are integral to patients getting essential top quality care in the community”. Check out Residential Care Homes for more on residential care.
Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham, answering the report, mentioned he was devoted to having much more nursing staff into the system.
The Observer presented last week that the rise in the nursing workforce was achieved by bringing in more than a 1 / 4 of new employees from abroad. Frontline clinical staff numbers went up by 11,100 under the coalition government, the Conservatives declare, and it had dedicated to about 10,000 more community healthcare workers - 5,000 doctors and 5,000 drawn from medical workers and allied health care professionals.
Burnham revealed that on “day one” in power he would increase the training places, with a goal of 20,000 additional medical workers in the following five-years.
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