Warning on Worthing patient care

7:00pm Wednesday 20th August 2008

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Hospital workers are warning patient care could suffer as health bosses cut back on the use of agency staff.

Staff at Worthing Hospital say they are being pushed from “pillar to post” around wards and departments to fill vacancies caused by holidays and sickness.

Managers have brought in the changes to reduce the millions spent each year providing expensive agency cover.

However, workers say the uncertainty and taking staff from one area to another puts pressure on other workers left behind to cope and have accused managers of reducing nursing levels.

One member of staff, who asked not to be named, told The Argus: “The trust is cutting back on the use and the hours of agency and bank staff to the detriment of patients.

“In the last few days, staff have been pushed from pillar to post to plug gaps in the manning on wards. Some wards are being left critically short of cover at vital times, such as meal times, when patients are being left for long periods before being fed.

“Drug rounds are running sometimes as much as an hour late and sometimes it is impossible to keep up with things like observations. I have seen staff in tears because of the pressure.”

Another worker said nurses were being asked to work on wards they were not used to which could also affect the level of care given.

Like all hospitals, Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust has to break even each year and managers say cutting back on expensive agency workers will help it manage the books.

It says it has been looking at staffing levels and working out how staff on some wards, if it is a quiet period, could work in a busier area during their shift.

A trust spokeswoman said: “Our priority is, and always will be, to provide the best care possible for our patients.

“There is no question, therefore, that we are cutting nursing levels. On the contrary, we are looking at how we can best use our own highly skilled nursing team more efficiently.

“This involves making sure that the right number of nurses are in the right place at the right time.

“The changes being proposed involve moving staff to different areas of the hospital when they are most busy and reducing our dependency on agency staff.

“Senior nursing staff are involved in the decision-making process at all times.”

The trust has been looking at several ways to save money.