Nurse staffing shortfalls: a multifaceted approach works best
Employing newly registered nurses in general practice settings offers several advantages and would help to ease the issue of long-term sustainability, but it also requires existing staff to get involved
Recruitment and retention strategies, such as introducing nurses to general practice settings during their training and enhancing support networks, could prove beneficial
That there are workforce shortages in nursing across the UK will come as absolutely no surprise to anyone working in the healthcare services – and hardly a day goes by without some news headline or survey result highlighting the gravity of the situation.
Many sources – from the RCN to the Care Quality Commission and beyond – report on the critical pressure nursing staff find themselves under due to workforce attrition rates exceeding recruitment rates. With a reported 29,000 registered nursing vacancies across the UK in the NHS alone, it is no wonder that nurses are experiencing stress-related illness, burnout and exhaustion.
The staffing shortfall issue gets more serious as time passes
General practice nursing is one of the areas projected to worsen significantly by 2030. With high stress levels and rising appointment volumes, addressing the staffing shortfall is a challenge that has been growing ever more serious as time passes.
‘Employing newly registered nurses in general practice settings offers several advantages and would help to ease the issue of long-term sustainability’
Our evidence & practice article Addressing staffing shortages: benefits and challenges of employing newly registered nurses in general practice settings explores various solutions to this intractable problem.
Employing newly registered nurses in general practice settings offers several advantages and would help to ease the issue of long-term sustainability, but it also requires existing staff to get involved providing support and much-needed preceptorship.
Ultimately, there is no magical fix and the way forward will be complex, requiring greater investment in nursing education right through to offering better career advancement opportunities in the workplace.
A variety of recruitment and retention strategies, such as introducing nurses to general practice settings during their training and enhancing support networks, will take time to have impact, but a multifaceted approach offers the best chances of creating a sustainable workforce into the future.
Have you tried RCNi Plus yet?
RCNi Plus offers unlimited access to RCNi Learning, Primary Health Care, Nursing Standard, our nine specialist journals and RCNi Revalidation Portfolio to store your CPD for revalidation. Use the discount code TRIALPLUS to get it half price for three months. Click here for more details
