Thread: Unsafe working conditions.

Hi all.

I didn't know if I should post this here or in the employment section but I think it's more appropriate here.

After 2 particularly bad night shifts I walked off duty and refused to come in for my last shift.

The reason? for over a year now I have made a stand for our ward being short staffed and that I felt that nursing care was compromised as well as patient safety. I wrote letters and incident reports through the right management channels and with 4 other members of nursing staff we went to see the Hospital Manager. (I am with a Union..........she was aware of the problems and was keen to give us all her support, but at the last minute did not come to the meeting. She has not made contact with me since).
The Manager left not long after.......not because of what we raised!)
Plans were drawn up to resolve these issues the best way the management could!!!!

We are now into the same situation and I refused to go into work because I was again concerned with the apauling staff shortages and compromised nursing care and patient safety. An incident report has been completed and parents have complained to PALS. I am now on annual leave for a week.

I feel that I am letting the team down for refusing to go into work but I hope I can change things by making a stand with all the supporting evidence.

I wrote another letter through the correct management channels and have spoken to them on the phone from home whilst on annual leave. They are going to make me make up my "missed" shift, they didn't know how to document it!! I am not sick.

They took my letter to the hospital managers meeting on Monday. I am awating feedback.
I am also waiting for a meeting with the managers to discuss these issues.

Lots of threads here are about other peoples concerns about hospital care and I just wanted you to all understand the problems we have in making a change to these issues.

I am doing this because I care for the patients I care for and the staff I work with and I will not make compromises that will endanger the care and safety of either.

The NHS is like a bucket with a hole in the bottom...........it doesn't matter how much money is thrown in it it will always be short. We are now having to make severe staff shortages.

I will be looking into the hospitals policy for whistle blowing when I go back to work or will get some one to e-mail it to me.

Please wish me luck because I am so angry that I find myself in this situation again.

Thank you for reading this.

Night Owl

Thank you both for your support. I really do appreciate it.

My collegues are behind me and the first time round we were all completing incident forms and speaking to management but when you find yourself in the same endless and hopeless situation people get disheartened and say, whats the point.

I have seen some very good nurses leave because the situation was so bad. I find that desperately sad and it doesn't seem to resolve anything.

If we don't make a stand then the issues go on, and I will not let that happen. I have been in this job for over 30 years and never, ever, have I refused to go to work. I was shaking and crying with rage as I left and was so angry that I was put in that position.

With parents backing us up, and we do encourage them to complain through PALS, we can back up the endless incident forms we complete for sub-optimal staffing or unsafe ward.

I will keep you updated if and when anything happens.

Thank you again for your support.

Hi Sali,

We have off duty records of staff for each 12 hour shift but due to staff changes and sickness our daily work book is more accurate. All the information is recorded on computer aswell.

Staff that are booked through bank or agency are booked through our bank office and their timesheets are signed and paid for by the wards they work on. This is all computerized documentation.

There is a ratio of trained to untrained staff per ward but this does not take into account increased patient dependency, this is when we will request extra staffing suitable for the need.

There is also a job freeze on at the moment so no new staff are being recruited. Before this as trained staff left the ratio changed and we were to accept higher untrained staff over trained staff.

I cannot be more specific of my area, but can only say that it is very specific in speciality and this staffing ratio is putting more stress on both trained and untrained staff to complete their working shift with no incidents occurring. Obviously there are shifts which work well and safe please don't let me paint a consistent bleak and hopeless picture.

Our problem at the moment is that our patient dependency is high but the extra staffing has been adhoc and then sometimes pulled for other areas due to the same staff shortages.

At present the managers, in there endless skill of management!, are looking at closing wards and moving staff like pins on a pin board without looking at the consequences they leave behind. If this happens they will be destroying well established teams and creating new ones that may well be out of their experience and knowledge base.

When the hospital is struggling to find beds for the patients being admitted 24/7 and a winter ahead of increased patients sickness (including Swine Flu) and inevitably staff sickness closing wards seems madness. They are not increasing the staff just squashing us into less wards.

Local families are then transfered out of the area to the next available bed, often miles away. This then hits the papers as families loose loved ones in the delay this causes for specalist treatment.

Sorry must stop waffling now.

I have just had a telephone call from the Matron of my ward. She is setting up a meeting on Tuesday 22nd December with the nursing Management so that I can discuss the issues I raised in my letter. There will be three of them and me!

I had the RCN rep. involved for support last year over similar issues but at the eleventh hour she didn't turn up at the meeting then! and has made no contact since. I am considering calling her again as this is a management meeting but then thinking what's the point!

I have contacted a more senior staff member for advice.

I have just completed this on my Union, The Royal College of Nursing, web site.
"Raising Concerns Raising Standards

This is an additional service to members who have concerns over clinical and staff safety in the workplace. It is important that nurses raise concerns directly with their employer. Registered nurses have a duty under the NMC to report concerns where patient care may be affected.
The Raising Concerns Raising Standards initiative is not an alternative to raising issues with your employer. However we are keen to hear of any issue that you think impinges on patient safety and the steps you have taken to get the matter resolved.
You can complete the form below and we will ensure that your concerns are made known to your RCN Country or regional office. Remember this is not a substitute for you reporting the issue to your employer or other relevant body."

Good luck at your meeting on Tuesday. I would say you need to have some support, so yes, contact your Union Rep. Make sure you get a properly recorded copy of the meeting as well.

I have a midwife friend (ex midwife now) who after 32 years decided she would take early retirement because of the conditions they were forced to work under.

Very sad situation as it isnt cheap to train a nurse.

BTW, meant to say, if you are happy with your thread here, then fine. If you want it moving, then just hit the red and white triangle which is

<<<<<<<<<<< to the left of the screen at the bottom of the avatar and ask for it to be moved.

Just had the RCN on the phone. They have arranged for someone from the RCN to phone on Monday 21st to go through everything..............h ow long have they got!
I have asked for their support at the meeting on Tues 22nd as it is with Management, they are going to let me know on Monday 21st.
The Regional Office is very interested too on what happens.

Thanks Feebee_71.

This is all over what I considered unsafe working conditions and putting my nursing registration at risk.
I refused to go in for a shift because I felt strongly that the ward was understaffed and we were not providing safe care. That is my right to voice my concerns and I have.
I am accountable for what I do and the care that I give.
I will keep this updated.

That is good news the RCN are going to give you some support. Lets hope they can provide someone to go with you on Tuesday.

Keep us updated please.

Originally Posted by Feebee_71

Night Owl,

As I head off for a night duty myself in a short time I know exactly where you are coming from and also feel at times that we are banging our heads against brick walls - especially when expected to keep HDU/ITU relevent cases on a general paeds ward because they 'aren't sick enough' to qualify for a specific retrieval service but we aren't trained sufficiently to use some of the equipment we are being made to use.

Fingers crossed for you and I will keep looking in on this thread.

Feebee_71

It sounds very familiar! Oh my god do you work in the same hospital as me?

Originally Posted by Night Owl

It sounds very familiar! Oh my god do you work in the same hospital as me?

Hi Night Owl,

Sorry for delay in replying - was catching up on some sleep after work last night!!

I don't work down your way, my hospital is inside M25 domain!!!

I think many of us could relate to similar experiences at some time or another.

Feebee_71

Originally Posted by zippygbr

are they denying you a bed in HDU or ITU or just stating that your patients don't meet the criteria for retrieval ?

several of the paeds retrieval services only do level 3 but won't do certain kinds of the trauma as it is felt that level 2 patients not needing the scarce resource of the level 3 dedicated vehicle and team ( outside of the london and SE schemes most retrieval schemes work on one vehicle per centre or don't have a dedicated vehicle ) and certain kinds of trauma ( e.g. neuro) are actually better served by an 'ordinary' secondary transfer given the time lag that a retrieval creates due to activation and travel 'to' time ...

Sorry Zippy, you may have to read this from the start. Im a nurse in a very specific area having a "rough" time. Our patient dependency is high and we have lots of very sick patients. No HDU unit.

My nursing registration was put at risk and I refused to go onto shift!
I have never ever been put in that position before and it is very scary.
All the staff are behind me! and have been great with thier support for the meeting with management on Tues.