The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Wales has presented evidence at an inquiry on the positive impact of appropriate nurse staffing levels on patient outcomes.
RCN Wales shared the findings to the Senedd Health and Social Care Committee, as part of a bid to expand their safe staffing laws to more patients and wards through the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016.
The RCN argued that extending the legislation to community and mental health inpatients settings would improve accountability of health boards, transparency on reporting of staffing levels, education commissioning for the future workforce, and the voice of nursing.
RCN Wales Director, Helen Whyley, commended the inquiry, but urged it to expand on the legislation’s success.
“It has now been two years since progress has been made in the extension of this legislation and we urge that this is prioritised going forward to address the ongoing staffing crisis in Wales,” Ms Whyley said.
RCN Wales Board Chair Jackie Davies echoed this sentiment, and urged the Senedd to listen to the research.
“Nursing is the largest safety-critical profession in the NHS, representing over 40% of the entire NHS workforce. The research is clear: there is a direct link between nurse staffing levels and patient safety. Legislating on safety-critical roles needs to be a standard process in healthcare as in any other industry,” added Ms Davies.
The RCN’s call for an extension of the Nurse Staffing Levels Act was supported by a petition signed by over 10,500 people. The petition was debated in the Senedd in September 2022, but no progress has been made since.