6 COMMUNITY NEWS
Care homes ‘ having to cancel ’ nursing care due to staff shortages , says CQC
Care homes have had to cancel their registration to provide nursing care because their attempts at recruitment have failed , the CQC has said .
In its annual State of Care report , the health and social care regulator for England warns the already poor retention of registered nurses in adult social care could worsen if staff are tempted to ‘ take up vacant posts in hospitals ’ because of pressures on the sector .
It points to the high turnover rate of nurses in social care – 38.2 % in 2020 / 221 , compared with 8.8 % in equivalent NHS roles . The data come from independent charity Skills for Care , which also estimates vacancies across the care workforce rose from 6.1 % to 8.2 % between March and August 2021 .
The CQC report reveals how an ‘ established ’ home recently decided it was now ‘ untenable ’ to provide nursing care because of staff shortages , meaning 15 residents were forced to find new homes . It says finding agency nursing cover would have cost the home ‘ thousands ’ in fees each week .
The document adds : ‘ We have heard examples of care homes having to cancel their registration to provide nursing care because their attempts at recruitment have failed , leaving residents needing to be found new homes in local areas that , given staffing challenges , are already at , or close to , capacity .’
National Care Forum chief executive Vic Rayner called for urgent action to tackle the ‘ serious staffing issues ’ facing the sector . She highlighted the report ’ s depiction of an ‘ exhausted ’ and ‘ depleted ’ workforce , ‘ for whom the increased pressures of the last 18 months have caused stress and burnout ’.
Health visitors need more support to work face-to-face , say MPs
Parents are still not able to access the level of face-to-face support needed from health visitors because a lack of resources and funding , MPs and children ’ s charities have warned .
At a House of Commons debate on 9 November , Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney said the Government ’ s decision , announced in October , not to increase the public health grant in real terms had left local authorities unable to increase face-to-face visits from health visitors .
‘ It is of the most urgent importance that we restore face-to-face health visiting to every new mother as the most essential building block of support to families ,’ she told MPs .
Although Ms Olney welcomed the Government ’ s £ 82m investment towards the introduction of family hubs in 75 local authorities across England , she said more information was needed on what the hubs could provide , including in relation to health visiting .
A report by three charities – the Parent-Infant Foundation , Home-Start UK and Best Beginnings – also raises concerns that parents are struggling to access in-person support . Speaking at the Commons debate , Conservative MP Dame Andrea Leadsom acknowledged that health visitor caseloads ‘ can be very heavy ’ because of workforce issues .
The latest NHS Digital data show health visitor numbers dropped by 35 % year on year from 10,212 in December 2015 to 6,653 in 2020 .
Social care chief nurse looks to tackle workforce shortages
Chief nurse for adult social care Deborah Sturdy has outlined ambitions to increase the number of registered nurses working in the sector , as she announced her permanent appointment as the first-ever holder of the role .
Ms Sturdy , who initially took up the role on an interim basis , revealed at October ’ s QNI Annual Conference that her position became permanent on 1 September .
Speaking to community nursing delegates , she pinpointed workforce shortages as one of the ‘ enormous challenges ’ facing the sector – but argued ‘ there is an opportunity ’ to tackle these issues following recently announced reforms funded by a National Insurance hike .
As part of work to raise the profile of social care nurses , she has commissioned research into the role of nursing in the sector . She said she had also discussed ways to increase the number of undergraduate placements with the Council of Deans .
Ms Sturdy praised social care nurses for ‘ really coming into the fore ’ during the pandemic .
Ruth May condemns ‘ unacceptable ’ abuse of school nurses
NHS England chief nursing officer Ruth May has spoken out against abuse of school nurses delivering the Covid-19 vaccination programme .
Ms May said on Twitter that she was ‘ shocked ’ to hear of the experiences of nurses delivering Covid jabs to ‘ thousands of schoolage children ’. She stressed the NHS has a ‘ zero tolerance policy towards all abuse of NHS staff ’.
She added : ‘ It is completely unacceptable to ever target NHS staff who are simply doing their job , and trying their best to protect our loved ones and our children .’
This comes after School and Public Health Nurses Association chief executive Sharon White tweeted that some parents were ‘ hounding ’ school nurses on school premises .
Ms White told Nursing in Practice she had heard of threats , swearing and ‘ screaming ’ towards school nurses . Parents have also damaged their cars by ‘ keying ’ them or letting down tyres , blocked their entry to schools and sent ‘ threatening , legal-looking ’ emails , she said .
RCN Professional Lead for Public Health Helen Donovan said some nursing staff had faced ‘ abhorrent behaviour ’ during the pandemic . ‘ It is unthinkable when they have been at the forefront of the vaccination programme ,’ she said .
GETTY nursinginpractice . com Winter 2021