Nurse shortages could hit patient care

Nurses leaders are expected to demand ministers do more to recruit and retain staff as a nursing organisation's annual conference begins.

Although more NHS nurses have been recruited, staff on many wards are still working at full stretch, according to workforce surveys commissioned by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

The problems in the care home industry are also likely to be highlighted at the RCN's annual conference in Harrogate which begins on Sunday.

The picture painted by the RCN is of a health service where many nurses are working flat out, according to BBC health correspondent Chris Hogg.

A serious lack of registered nurses to support and guide students is endangering patient care and short-changing these urgently needed new recruits to nursing RCN president Sylvia Denton Student nurses 'left to cope alone'

Overseas recruitment and other measures to encourage staff to return to work have helped increase the number of nurses in the NHS.

The promise of a new pay system due to be piloted this summer has also helped.

Union leaders have proposed a radical restructuring that would see the most skilled nurses receiving the highest pay.

RCN general secretary Dr Beverley Malone told BBC News it would keep more nurses, particularly "those of us who are turning 50 and thinking about retiring", in the profession.

Nurses' leaders will also warn ministers that the pressure to get hospitals to cut waiting times for patients increases demands on nursing staff.

The workforce surveys the RCN has commissioned are expected to show that many of those who are studying for a nursing qualification are already tempted to leave.

The conference will also debate a call for the government to raise the level of fees paid to care homes to prevent what the RCN describes as an escalating rate of home closures.

It warns this could have serious implications for the NHS.