RCN Wales calls for Government action to tackle shortage of nursing staff in Care Homes

RCN Wales is calling for urgent action following the findings of a cross party group, published today in the report, “Nursing in Care Homes: A View from the Frontline”.
The shortage of qualified Registered Nurses has become so acute that some care homes are struggling to provide nursing care. RCN Wales is deeply concerned about the shortage of nurses in this sector. The report makes recommendations to extend the scope of the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016 Section 25B, requiring due application of a prescribed methodology to set the nurse staffing levels in care homes.
David Rees AM, Chair of the Cross Party Group on Nursing and Midwifery said; “It was good for Assembly Members to meet with nursing staff working in care homes across the country. The care of older people is a rewarding and immensely skilled role. We need to encourage more people to work in the sector.”
Helen Whyley, Director RCN Wales said, “This report clearly demonstrates that there is significant cause for concern around nurse staffing levels in the care home sector. Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) should address this in their forthcoming workforce strategy and The Welsh Government ‘Train Work Live’ campaign should be urgently rolled out to include social care. Access to nursing careers in this area needs to be widened and more student nurse education placements made available in care homes.”
Carol Cleary, Deputy Home Manager Royal Masonic Benevolent Home, Porthcawl, was part of the cross party group and understands the importance of recruitment “It's a challenging sector to work in but one where we can make a real difference to our residents' health and wellbeing. We are actively working with the University of South Wales to establish student nurse placements at our home by early 2020.”
Carol is calling for more partnerships like this between universities and care homes, in order to share the experiences of social care nurses with nursing students, in the hope of increasing staffing levels in the future.