Northern Ireland consultation on safer nurse staffing opens
A consultation on safe and effective staffing for nurses and other healthcare staff has been launched for Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland health minister Mike Nesbitt finalised and opened the consultation earlier this week, after its scope was widened to include “effective” as well as safe staffing.
“The people of Northern Ireland rightly deserve a first-class healthcare system”
Mike Nesbitt
The legislation being consulted on is set to become a Safe and Effective Staffing Bill in the Northern Irish devolved parliament.
This long-awaited consultation was first promised in January 2020, following industrial action by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). It opened on Monday, 22 July and will run until Monday, 14 October.
The consultation, while aimed at nursing, covers all Health and Social Care (HSC) staff and puts forward suggestions including legislative requirements for HSC employers to improve and review their workforce planning to reach safer staffing levels.
Furthermore, it proposes “common” staffing methods and calculations tools, as well as improvements to the monitoring of staffing levels across HSC.
While it is aimed at HSC professionals, the consultation documents stated that members of the public, trade unions, local councils and other organisations may offer their feedback.
These consultation documents also refer to ongoing work to reach safer staffing levels in Wales, Scotland and England, which have all taken slightly different approaches or are working to different timelines.
Earlier this year, a new safe staffing law came into effect in Scotland which put a legal duty on Scottish NHS and social care providers to have suitably qualified staff in the right numbers at all times.
Meanwhile, safer staffing legislation in Wales, which came into force back in 2016, was found to have reduced the number of serious incidents related to staff levels.
Mr Nestbitt encouraged healthcare staff to engage with the Northern Ireland consultation, adding: “The most crucial component in our health and social care system is the dedicated and skilled workforce.
“Without our workforce, this system would cease to function and put people’s lives at risk,” he said. “The people of Northern Ireland rightly deserve a first-class healthcare system.
“Expanding the scope of the proposed legislation has broadened the focus from ‘safe nurse staffing’ to ‘safe and effective staffing’ for all of health and social care,” he noted.
The consultation, and how to submit feedback, can be found on the Northern Ireland government website.
