Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSToo few nurses for Mid-Staffs ward rounds
Consultants at Mid-Staffordshire hospital warned managers that there were not enough nurses to accompany them on ward rounds, an influential committee of MPs has heard.
The Commons Health Select Committee took evidence from Peter Daggett, consultant physician and endocrinologist at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.
Dr Daggett said that nurse staffing levels had become so low prior to a highly critical report by the Healthcare Commission, that consultants were doing ward rounds without nurses present.
This meant that they were doing ward rounds without feedback of a nurse about patients’ conditions.
Dr Daggett said: ‘I could not do ward rounds without having a nurse - but it had become the norm not to have a nurse.’
He added that with hindsight, doctors should not have accepted excuses from management that there was no funding for more nursing posts.
‘We should not have accepted their mantra that there [was] no money,’ he added.
The hearing was part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into patient safety.
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Readers' comments (1)
Anonymous | 5-Jun-2009 3:34 am
This has been a disaster waiting to happen - I left he NHS Trust nearly 10 years ago and the staffing levels at the hospital then were at a low level. Something which I personally had brought to the attention of senior staff when arriving to commence a shift raising that the staff patient levels were unsafe. Very often having to rely on unqualified staff who were then forced to work outside of there role to provide acceptable patient care.
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