As someone who has worked across safety-critical industries for many years, I understand the need to have the right people, with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time. In most of the industries I’ve worked in, a minimum mandated number of staff is non-negotiable. It’s hard to believe that does not apply to health care in the UK. Nursing is a safety critical profession because when the nursing workforce is missing, catastrophe follows. In a I co-authored, it was possible to see that reducing registered nurse staffing affected the number of excess deaths in English hospitals.
But this research has been done before too many times. There have been too many inquiries and promises of ‘lessons learned’ because patients suffered when they did not have access to timely, expert nursing care. When there are enough registered nurses, patients are less likely to die from avoidable causes, less likely to suffer complications, and can go home sooner. Safe staffing isn’t optional – it’s life‑saving. Having enough registered nurses is also cost effective and helps retain not only skilled nursing staff but also other professionals, meaning all-round better care for patients and families.
Safe registered nurse staffing must become a guaranteed reality in every care setting across the UK – not just a promise on paper. The lack of attention to staff and patient safety means our call for mandated nurse‑to‑patient ratios is something you are going to hear more about, because safe staffing saves lives, protects the public, improves productivity and safeguards the profession. Minimum mandated ratios draw a red line which stops the numbers ever falling below a critical-safety level. Enforceable ratios will prevent that line from being crossed – they are a minimum, not a workforce model or race to the bottom. Far too many staffing levels have been reduced and result in impossible workloads and distress because nursing staff cannot give patients the care they know they need.
Other professions recognise that ratios like these are necessary for safety, including childcare and animal kennels, yet this same protection isn’t afforded to nursing staff and their patients.
Governments and employers must take responsibility for ensuring safe conditions for patient care. Decisions about staffing should be grounded in evidence and expert nursing insight, not the ward budget. That’s why the Nursing Workforce Academy, part of our Institute of Nursing Excellence, is leading a multi‑year programme to build robust standards, setting‑specific recommendations for safe staffing.
But this is not only a long-term ambition, it starts now with you. Evidence isn’t only found in academic studies and the numbers – it lives in the day‑to‑day reality of nursing staff. Your experience matters. Your voice matters. And right now, it is urgently needed.
If we want safe staffing to become a reality, we need to show – clearly and powerfully – what is happening where you are caring for patients-no matter where that is. The captures the reality of your working conditions: the pressures, the gaps, the compromises, and importantly, the impact on patient care. Your words and the numbers together will make our arguments more compelling.
Every response strengthens our case for safe staffing and mandated ratios. Every voice adds weight to the evidence. Every story helps drive change. Collectively the stories become evidence that are harder to argue against.
If you haven’t yet completed the RCN Last Shift Survey, . Your experience could help shape the future of nursing and patient safety.
But this research has been done before too many times. There have been too many inquiries and promises of ‘lessons learned’ because patients suffered when they did not have access to timely, expert nursing care. When there are enough registered nurses, patients are less likely to die from avoidable causes, less likely to suffer complications, and can go home sooner. Safe staffing isn’t optional – it’s life‑saving. Having enough registered nurses is also cost effective and helps retain not only skilled nursing staff but also other professionals, meaning all-round better care for patients and families.
Safe registered nurse staffing must become a guaranteed reality in every care setting across the UK – not just a promise on paper. The lack of attention to staff and patient safety means our call for mandated nurse‑to‑patient ratios is something you are going to hear more about, because safe staffing saves lives, protects the public, improves productivity and safeguards the profession. Minimum mandated ratios draw a red line which stops the numbers ever falling below a critical-safety level. Enforceable ratios will prevent that line from being crossed – they are a minimum, not a workforce model or race to the bottom. Far too many staffing levels have been reduced and result in impossible workloads and distress because nursing staff cannot give patients the care they know they need.
Other professions recognise that ratios like these are necessary for safety, including childcare and animal kennels, yet this same protection isn’t afforded to nursing staff and their patients.
Governments and employers must take responsibility for ensuring safe conditions for patient care. Decisions about staffing should be grounded in evidence and expert nursing insight, not the ward budget. That’s why the Nursing Workforce Academy, part of our Institute of Nursing Excellence, is leading a multi‑year programme to build robust standards, setting‑specific recommendations for safe staffing.
But this is not only a long-term ambition, it starts now with you. Evidence isn’t only found in academic studies and the numbers – it lives in the day‑to‑day reality of nursing staff. Your experience matters. Your voice matters. And right now, it is urgently needed.
If we want safe staffing to become a reality, we need to show – clearly and powerfully – what is happening where you are caring for patients-no matter where that is. The captures the reality of your working conditions: the pressures, the gaps, the compromises, and importantly, the impact on patient care. Your words and the numbers together will make our arguments more compelling.
Every response strengthens our case for safe staffing and mandated ratios. Every voice adds weight to the evidence. Every story helps drive change. Collectively the stories become evidence that are harder to argue against.
If you haven’t yet completed the RCN Last Shift Survey, . Your experience could help shape the future of nursing and patient safety.
