Plymouth nurses raise staff shortage concerns
- Published: 10 March 2008 10:29
- Author: Helen Mooney
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- Last Updated: 10 March 2008 15:56
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Nursing staff at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust are claiming patient's lives are being put at risk because of staff shortages
Nearly 40 staff on Derriford hospital's Crownhill ward have sent a letter to union representatives and trust managers in which they allege that under staffing levels have led to pressure and stress and put patients' lives at risk.
The letter, leaked to a local newspaper, calls on managers to look at ways of improving working conditions on the wards at the hospital.
Paula Vasco-Knight, the trust's chief nurse and deputy chief executive, said she was 'disappointed' that the nurses had not come to her with their concerns. But, as a temporary measure, the trust had decided to use agency nurses to meet understaffing issues, she said.
'Patient safety and staff morale has had to come first,' she added.
