Many nurses in Wales feel too busy to provide best care
Nursing staff in Wales are struggling under a “tempest of strain”, leaders have warned in response to new survey results.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Wales has analysed its country-specific findings from the college’s 2023 UK employment survey, which was undertaken in autumn last year.
“Nursing staff stand as the unwavering pillars of care, yet they face a tempest of strain”
Nicky Hughes
Of the almost 1,000 nursing staff in Wales who completed the survey, 45% were either thinking about or planning on leaving their job.
The main reasons respondents gave for thinking about leaving their job was feeling undervalued (69%) followed by feeling under too much pressure (63%) and feeling exhausted (58%).
The survey results suggested that many nursing staff in Wales were propping up services by working additional hours.
In total, 73.5% reported that they worked over their contracted hours at least once a week. Of those, 45% said these hours were unpaid.
Almost all – 87% – said, over the last 12 months, they had gone into work despite feeling too ill to do so.
The findings illustrated the knock-on effects for patients as a result of the challenges faced by the health system and nursing staff.
A concerning 63% of respondents said they were too busy to provide the level of care they would like to, while 56% said they spent too much of their time on non-nursing duties.
These service pressures were contributing to nursing staff being on the receiving end of abuse from patients and families, the survey found.
Most respondents (64%) said they had experienced verbal abuse at work by patients or relatives in the last 12 months and 29% said they had endured physical attacks.
The biggest underlying cause for the verbal abuse – in 66% of cases – was people being dissatisfied with services, while in the physical attacks this was the cause in 31% of cases.
Sexual harassment also continued to be an issue experienced by too many nursing staff, the survey findings showed.
Of those who responded, 19% said they had been the target of unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature in the workplace from patients or other members of the public in the last 12 months, while 5% had experienced it from a colleague.
Meanwhile, financial concerns were high among nursing staff who took part in the survey, with just 21% thinking that they were paid enough for their role and level of responsibility.
Asked about cost-of-living pressures, 67% stated they had needed to cut back on food or travel costs in the last few months in order to save money, while 17.5% said they regularly skipped meals.
Money worries were causing 70% of respondents to regularly or sometimes feel anxious, and 40% said they were finding it difficult to concentrate or make decisions at work as a result.
Pay came out as the issue that mattered most to nursing staff in terms of changes that would make a positive difference to them.
“We greatly value the nursing workforce in Wales and the vital work they do”
Welsh Government spokesperson
In total, 86% of respondents said a pay rise would make the most difference to them, while 34% said more flexible working arrangements would.
Nicky Hughes, RCN Wales associate director of nursing (employment relations), said the survey results showed nursing staff were facing a “perfect storm”.
“Nursing staff stand as the unwavering pillars of care, yet they face a tempest of strain,” she said.
“Without them, there would be no NHS. For a workforce that gives beyond measure, it’s our turn to give back – support, value and respect for nursing staff are not just deserved, they’re due.”
Ms Hughes added: “RCN Wales calls for immediate action to address these issues, emphasising the need for a sustainable workforce plan that values and supports nursing staff, ensuring they can provide the highest standard of evidence-based care to the people of Wales.”
Responding, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We greatly value the nursing workforce in Wales and the vital work they do.”
They highlighted the government’s investment last year in expanding training places and other actions it was taking to support staff as part of its workforce plan and commitments in the 2023-24 NHS pay deal.
