‘This is a situation that cannot go on indefinitely’
STEVE FORD, EDITOR
04 January, 2022 By Grace Howarth
More than half of nursing staff are either considering or planning to quit their job following the “toll of the pandemic”, according to a Royal College of Nursing survey.
The RCN has released the results from its latest employment survey, taken in October 2021, which gives an overview of how health care staff felt almost a year and a half into the pandemic.
The survey was completed by 9,577 staff made up of nurses, health care support workers, students and nursing associates working across health and social care.
“All nursing staff need funded and supported time out – not limited to annual leave – regardless of which setting they work in”
Pat Cullen
Three quarters (74%) reported working beyond their contracted hours at least once a week and 17% reported doing this every working day.
Of all respondents, 17.5% said they worked at least an extra seven hours a week in addition to their contracted hours.
The survey noted that the majority of additional hours worked went unpaid, which the RCN said meant there was simply a reliance on the “commitment and goodwill of staff” to cover the gaps.
Meanwhile, 63% said they were unable to take their full amount of annual leave.
A further 68% said they felt under “too much pressure at work” and 61.5% said they were “too busy to provide the level of care they would like to”.
In total 77% reported working while they should have been on sick leave on at least one occasion over the past 12 months from the time the survey was collected.
The reasons staff gave for needing to take sick leave included being unwell due to stress, which 67% reported, and being unwell due to mental health issues, which 38% reported.
In terms of leaving, 57% of respondents said they were either considering or planning to leave their current post. This figure included those planning to retire.
Among nursing staff working in NHS hospital settings, 60% reported they were considering or planning to their leave their jobs.
The main reasons that were given for wanting to quit were that staff felt “undervalued” and “under too much pressure”.
In terms of pay, 63% felt that their pay band did not reflect their value with only 26% saying they considered their pay band appropriate.
The main reasons put forward for the dissatisfaction included pay not keeping up with the cost of living, unhappiness with current pay structures and a perceived lack of proper reward for the contribution and efforts of nursing staff.
The RCN has said it will use these results to inform the NHS Pay Review Body on what pay recommendations to give to the UK government for 2022-23.
Pat Cullen
RCN general secretary and chief executive Pat Cullen said the situation was not sustainable.
She said staff needed to have the opportunity to take a “time out” and have that not just be “limited to annual leave”.
Ms Cullen spoke of the potential for a “rich and satisfying career” in nursing but staff concerns needed addressing, emphasising that “proper” mental support services needed to be made available to staff.
“As the pandemic moves into a third calendar year and now we face another Covid wave, our members talk vividly about the toll of the pandemic and years of understaffing,” she added.
“Nursing undoubtedly has the potential to be a hugely rich and satisfying career, but with tens of thousands of nursing jobs unfilled the situation is unsustainable.
“All nursing staff need funded and supported time out – not limited to annual leave – regardless of which setting they work in.
“Likewise, where staff have taken time off due to illness, rest and recuperation must be central to decision-making about their return to work. Proper mental and psychological support services need to be made available.”
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