RCN Congress 2022: Survey reveals financial hardships of nurses
Almost a third of nurses say they have difficulty covering the cost of food and heating their homes, a survey has found.
The Cavell Nurses’ Trust has this week revealed a snapshot of findings from its latest financial hardship survey carried out in January and February this year.
A total of 2,500 nurses and health workers responded to the short questionnaire, which aimed to give the charity a better understanding of how best to support staff facing a financial crisis.
Robert Tunmore, external relations lead at the charity and a mental health nurse by background, announced some of the results during the Royal College of Nursing’s annual conference this week in Glasgow.
According to the findings, 69% of respondents said they were either unprepared or very unprepared for a financial emergency.
In addition, 80% said they would be unlikely or very unlikely to talk to their employer if they were having a financial crisis.
A further 41% reported having £500 or less in savings to be used in a financial emergency.
Concerningly, almost half (47%) said they have considered leaving their job roles.
Mr Tunmore said these findings had been “reflected” in some of the conversations he had had with RCN members this week.
Nurses had been telling him about extra shifts they had worked to help make ends meet and some said they had just £100 left at the end of the month, every month, and had several children to look after.
As part of the survey, the charity also asked nurses about which costs they struggled to cover the most.
The results showed that replacing household items such as washing machines or ovens when they broke was a struggle faced by 42% of respondents.
Meanwhile, just under a third said they had difficulty paying for food (30%) and heating their homes (28%). The charity also highlighted that these findings were based on responses from before recent hikes in the cost of living.
Paying for essential clothing and footwear, such as uniforms or coats, was a struggle for 22% of members, the survey also found.
Robert Tunmore and Lewis Allet
More than a third (35%) also said they had trouble covering the cost of leisure time or hobbies.
Concerningly, 14% of respondents said they used food banks to feed themselves and their family.
During the conference session, Mr Tunmore, alongside Lewis Allet, support director at the Cavell Nurses’ Trust, outlined comments made by nurses responding to the survey who were asked how using a food bank made them feel.
Examples included those who said they felt “ashamed and depressed” or “like a failure”.
Others said they were worried they were “taking it from other people even more in need”, while others said they felt “humiliated and worthless”.
Another said they were “very upset, especially after three years of training and being top of band 6 and yet still struggling financially”.
Mr Tunmore explained that feeling embarrassed or ashamed about this issue and other financial difficulties had “contributed to a lot of mental health problems” among nursing staff.
The issue of nurses needing to use food banks was also addressed by former prime minister Gordon Brown during a keynote address at the conference earlier this week.
Mr Brown had said: “I hate the idea that nurses work every day, doing their shifts and at the end of a long shift when they are tired, they are having to go and queue up for food at food banks.”
More positively, the Cavell survey received thousands of comments about why nurses enjoyed their jobs.
One had said: “The privilege of caring for someone when so vulnerable is enormous and something I always treasure.”
Another added: “What makes me get up every morning is knowing that I can make the difference in somebody’s life.”
Mr Tunmore welcomed the positive statements from nurses about their careers, though he added that a lot of the feedback had been “tempered” with comments about “pressures of staffing shortages” and other workplace issues.
