Nursing Standard, The Heights, 59-65 Lowlands Road, Harrow-on-the-Hill HA1 3AW Tel +44 (0)20 8423 1066 Email [email protected] You can email staff at Nursing Standard in the following way: (first name).(second name)@rcni.com ISSN 0029-6570 Editor Graham Scott 020 8872 3190 @NSeditor Managing editors Elaine Cole @prideinnursing (maternity leave) Janet Snell 020 8872 3109 @Janet_Snell Acting managing editor Christine Walker 020 8872 3154 Web editor Amanda Carter ART & SCIENCE Editor Gwen Clarke 020 8872 3158 @NSclinicalEd Associate editor Tanya Fernandes 020 8872 3164 Senior clinical editors Noreen Begley 020 8872 3405 @ClinEd_NS Beth Knight 020 8872 3157 @nsartandsci NEWS AND VIEWS News editors Sarah Lydall 020 8872 3144 @NurseNewsEditor Alistair Kleebauer 020 8872 3145 @alistairbauer News reporter Chris Longhurst 020 8872 3403 @news_rcni Commissioning editor Thelma Agnew 020 8872 3163 @ThelmaAgnew Assistant editors Sophie Blakemore 020 8872 3186 @Nursejournals Stephanie Jones-Berry 020 8872 3147 @RCNi_Steph Clare Lomas 020 8872 3161 @RCNi_clarelomas Jennifer Sprinks 020 8872 3146 @JenniferSprinks Editorial assistant Layla Haidrani 020 8872 3158 @layla_haidrani PRODUCTION AND DESIGN Head of production Jennifer Oldfield Editorial production manager Julie Hickey Print production manager Arnie Beeson Senior sub editor Justin Stevens Sub editors Joyce McKimm, Duncan Tyler, Bernie Deehan, Jane Grove Copy editor Anita Sahni Art and design manager Philip Brecht Designers Wasim Akande, Sujata Aurora Picture editor Helen Jones Art and design assistant Annette Taylor-Anderson Print production assistant Sally Gauntlett Editorial production administrator Victoria Khodetska INDICES Nursing Standard is indexed on these databases: British Nursing Index • CINAHL • Ethnic minorities health: A Current Awareness Bulletin • International Nursing Index • MEDLINE • MIDIRS Midwifery Digest • OSH-ROM (HSELINE) • Palliative Care Index • RNdex SUBSCRIPTIONS Personal rates from £98 a year. Telephone +44 (0)345 772 6100 Institutional rates from £675 a year. Email [email protected] Visit www.nursing-standard.co.uk for details. ARCHIVE Personal subscribers have access to a range of Art & Science articles as part of their subscription. Institutional users may purchase permanent access to the Nursing Standard archive (1996 -). AUTHOR GUIDELINES These can be downloaded from www.nursing-standard.co.uk ADVERTISEMENTS Classified +44 (0)20 8423 1333 Display and sponsorship +44 (0)20 8872 3122 Nursing Standard is published every Wednesday by RCNi, the publishing company of the Royal College of Nursing. It seeks to promote professional excellence, and encourage creativity and innovation in nursing, midwifery and health visiting practice. Nursing Standard also aims to enhance nurses’ and healthcare assistants’ career development and to help them achieve and maintain a healthy and rewarding working environment. Nursing Standard is editorially independent and the opinions expressed are not those of the RCN or of the contributor’s employing organisation unless specifically stated.
Editorial Graham Scott EDITOR
@NSeditor
New law on staffing levels will save lives Good news about nurse staffing levels can be hard to find, so how fantastic that a protracted campaign in Wales finally paid off last week with the passage of legislation to ensure hospital wards are staffed safely. Next month, the Queen will give royal assent to the Safe Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Bill, which will save lives, produce better outcomes and enhance the patient experience of care. IT IS A SHAME THE LEGISLATION The new law will require local health boards – and English WILL ONLY APPLY IN PART OF NHS trusts that run services in THE UK, BUT IT’S A START
Wales – to calculate and agree minimum nurse staffing levels. They will also have to provide indicators of where failure to provide a sufficient number of nurses has compromised patient care in the past. Any staff member or member of the public will have the right to instigate legal action if they have reason to believe that the agreed levels of nurse staffing are not being maintained. It is a great shame that the legislation will apply only in part of the UK, but it is a start, and the change could be replicated elsewhere if it proves to be successful. Let us hope that government ministers in the other three countries wake up and see the potential benefits of such laws, rather than taking a reductionist view based only on the initial costs involved in employing more, better qualified staff. Much of the credit must go to the Welsh Liberal Democrats’ leader and assembly member Kirsty Williams, who introduced the bill and built the case for its approval by her fellow assembly members. Praise is also due to RCN Wales director Tina Donnelly and her team, who have campaigned tirelessly and persistently over several years. And well done to health minister Mark Drakeford, initially a sceptic, for seeing sense.
As Ms Williams said last week, the logic is simple: ‘More nurses on our wards means each nurse can spend more time with each patient, ensuring better care as a result. More staff nurses means health boards won’t have to fork out for expensive agency nurses, saving our NHS money in the long run.’ See new page 8
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www.nursing-standard.co.uk Nursing Standard @NurseStandard www.rcni.com
Have your say by joining @NurseStandard for our weekly Twitter debate. Every Thursday from 12.30 to 1.30 use #NScomment and share your views with other nurses on a hot topic of the day
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Editorial Graham Scott EDITOR
@NSeditor
New law on staffing levels will save lives Good news about nurse staffing levels can be hard to find, so how fantastic that a protracted campaign in Wales finally paid off last week with the passage of legislation to ensure hospital wards are staffed safely. Next month, the Queen will give royal assent to the Safe Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Bill, which will save lives, produce better outcomes and enhance the patient experience of care. IT IS A SHAME THE LEGISLATION The new law will require local health boards – and English WILL ONLY APPLY IN PART OF NHS trusts that run services in THE UK, BUT IT’S A START
Wales – to calculate and agree minimum nurse staffing levels. They will also have to provide indicators of where failure to provide a sufficient number of nurses has compromised patient care in the past. Any staff member or member of the public will have the right to instigate legal action if they have reason to believe that the agreed levels of nurse staffing are not being maintained. It is a great shame that the legislation will apply only in part of the UK, but it is a start, and the change could be replicated elsewhere if it proves to be successful. Let us hope that government ministers in the other three countries wake up and see the potential benefits of such laws, rather than taking a reductionist view based only on the initial costs involved in employing more, better qualified staff. Much of the credit must go to the Welsh Liberal Democrats’ leader and assembly member Kirsty Williams, who introduced the bill and built the case for its approval by her fellow assembly members. Praise is also due to RCN Wales director Tina Donnelly and her team, who have campaigned tirelessly and persistently over several years. And well done to health minister Mark Drakeford, initially a sceptic, for seeing sense.
As Ms Williams said last week, the logic is simple: ‘More nurses on our wards means each nurse can spend more time with each patient, ensuring better care as a result. More staff nurses means health boards won’t have to fork out for expensive agency nurses, saving our NHS money in the long run.’ See new page 8
Acceptance of an advertisement does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement of a product or service, either by the RCN or RCNi.
www.nursing-standard.co.uk Nursing Standard @NurseStandard www.rcni.com
Have your say by joining @NurseStandard for our weekly Twitter debate. Every Thursday from 12.30 to 1.30 use #NScomment and share your views with other nurses on a hot topic of the day
february :: vol 30without no 25 permission. :: 2016 3 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Mar 07, 2016. For personal use only. No17 other uses Copyright © 2016 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
