Scotland nurses asked to help ‘scrutinise’ new staffing law
Nurses and nursing support workers in Scotland are being encouraged to complete a survey which aims to measure the impact of new safe staffing legislation.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland has teamed up with Edinburgh Napier University and the University of Pennsylvania on a study which will assess how well the country is complying with the new law and the difference it is making for staff and patients.
“It’s important that we monitor and scrutinise the impact the Act is having”
Eileen McKenna
It comes as the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act came into force last month.
The landmark legislation has set out requirements for safe staffing levels across health and social care settings.
It places a legal duty on NHS and social care providers to make sure there are always suitably qualified staff working in the right numbers for safe and effective care.
The law also places a duty on the Scottish Government to ensure that there are enough registered nurses, midwives and medical professionals available to enable employers to meet their duty.
Under the legislation, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and the Care Inspectorate are responsible for monitoring compliance with the Act in their respective sectors.
Now, registered nurses and nursing support workers have been asked to take part in an initial survey.
The study is set to measure compliance with the requirements of the legislation so far, as well as staffing levels, work environments and career aspirations of staff at the point of implementation of the Act.
The study, being run by Dr Azwa Shamsuddin and Dr Iain Atherton from Edinburgh Napier University in collaboration with Professor Eileen Lake from the University of Pennsylvania, will analyse the feedback and use it to support evaluation of the legislation in the years ahead.
Dr Shamsuddin said: “We are hoping that [nursing staff] working in hospitals, community services and care homes will find the time to tell us about their current staffing levels and working conditions.
“It is so important to understand what staffing levels are like now to be able to measure impact of the legislation in the future.”
Meanwhile, Eileen McKenna, associate director at RCN Scotland, said: “We worked hard to influence and shape Scotland’s safe staffing legislation.
“We pushed the Scottish government to commit to an implementation date.
“Now, it’s important that we monitor and scrutinise the impact the Act is having.”
The survey is open to all registered nurses and nursing support workers working in the NHS and social care in Scotland, including those who are not RCN members.
