NHS staff cuts: 'Care will suffer'

Sunday, 26 December 2010 12:00 AM

By politics.co.uk staff

Reducing hospital staff will have a compromising effect on patient care, the Royal College of Nursing's general secretary has warned.

Peter Carter argued in an article for the Observer that the £20 billion efficiency savings cut being imposed on the NHS would have an inevitably negative impact.

The comments reflect a growing concern among health practitioners about the sweeping effect such cuts could have, with many fearing a return to the late 1990s when services reached a nadir.

"The worry is that we have seen time and again what happens when staffing levels are slashed without thinking of the impact on patient care," Dr Carter argued.

""Take some of the well-documented examples in recent times of disastrous failings that can occur in part through staffing deficits there is no doubt care will suffer."

Stafford hospital, now the subject of a judge-led public inquiry, saw up to 1,000 extra deaths as a result of poor management.

The Department of Health said the NHS had to change in line with its white paper proposals.

"If we are to make patient outcomes truly world-class and respond to rising demand, we must reform the NHS so that it can focus its resources on patients and quality," a spokesperson told the Observer.

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