There must be a ‘suitably resourced, educated and trained’ nursing workforce to be able to respond to any future health challenges ‘at speed’, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has heard.
Without action to address workforce issues – including by enshrining nurse-to-patient ratios in law – the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warned the inquiry that meeting demand created by a future pandemic had a ‘poor prospect’.
Today the inquiry heard from Fenella Morris KC on behalf of the RCN, who gave a closing statement on the latest phase of the investigation which centred on the impact of the Covid pandemic on healthcare.
Ms Morris reiterated the college’s calls for increased mental health support for the profession, and wider support for those with long Covid.
She also stressed the need to ensure all nurses in all settings had access to the right personal protective equipment (PPE) and infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance.
Related Article: Afternoon inhaler use gives effective asthma control, study finds
On workforce, Ms Morris said: ‘There needs to be a suitably resourced, educated and trained healthcare workforce in place so that it can respond to the next challenge at speed, staffing levels need to be based on workforce projections that reflect actual population need with safety critical nurse to patient ratios enshrined in law.
‘Without an adequate number of medical clinical and healthcare workers with the right mixture of skills and who are able to deliver the appropriate standard of patient care to meet the demand of the country at the present time in the absence of a pandemic, then there is a poor prospect of the demand created by a future pandemic being met.’
Any future pandemics or health crises must also see professional nursing representation ‘equivalent to medical representation’, at briefings and government or health meetings.
And when any future IPC guidance is produced, including an array of different health professionals is vital to ensure any concerns around the ‘applicability’ of guidance could be addressed early on, the inquiry heard.
On PPE, Ms Morris stressed all governments and employers ‘must ensure that all nursing staff, regardless of practice, setting, geographical location, role, employer or finances, have access to that which is necessary to use when required’.
Working conditions and monitoring of the workforce was also flagged as an area of importance for any future crises.
‘There needs to be comprehensive data collection and systematic reporting on deaths, infection rates and self-isolation rates for nursing staff, and that should capture ethnicity and gender,’ said Ms Morris.
‘It’s necessary in order accurately to scrutinise the impact of infection protection, prevention and control measures in real time, and it should apply to all care sectors and not just hospitals.’
Related Article: Sundowning in dementia: what nurses can do to support patients
She also stressed the need for ‘proper management and support for the health and wellbeing of nursing staff’.
The RCN recommended that all employers ‘make available and fund timely access to confidential counselling and psychological support’ for nursing staff.
There must also be ‘effective self-management and support in the community’ for nurses with long Covid.
‘It is vital that the findings of research into long Covid amongst health and social care staff inform workforce planning needs support for these staff members needs to continue, and the impact of long Covid in terms of increased long-term absence, needs to be factored into workforce planning,’ added Ms Morris.
And she reiterated the RCN’s ongoing appeal to the UK Government to classify Covid as an ‘occupational disease and afford healthcare professionals better support through policies, guidance and occupational health’.
Related Article: Vaping trends stall following regulation announcement
Earlier this month, the inquiry heard from a Band 5 staff nurse who said colleagues who contracted long Covid during the pandemic and subsequently left their jobs have been let down and made to feel ‘disposable’ by NHS management.
It also heard from professional lead for IPC at the RCN, Rose Gallagher, about the need for IPC guidance to reflect a variety of health and care environments to better protect nurses.
Meanwhile, this week former health secretary Sir Sajid Javid said warned the primary care system is ‘not fit for purpose’ and more should be done to ensure areas of health prevention and promotion are ‘better addressed’.
