Survey reveals life in the NHS under the Tories

On the day that nurses and the public should be celebrating Nurses Day (12 May), a shocking survey of more that 2,000 nurses and midwives, paints a bleak picture of life in the NHS since the Tories came to power a year ago. The UNISON survey underlines the effect of uncertainty caused by the Health and Social Care Bill and the impact on the frontline of the Government’s demand for £20bn in efficiency savings.Three quarters of nursing staff said that the number of patients they have treated has gone up, at the same time as 60% reported a drop in staff numbers. This damaging scenario led to a shocking 64% reporting that safety and patient care is being undermined. Staff morale has been hit with only a quarter prepared to recommend nursing as a profession.The vast majority (78%) said that their employer was making cuts, with over a third reporting redundancies.Gail Adams, UNISON Head of Nursing, said:“The results of this damning survey are both sad and shocking. Nurses and midwives see first hand the damage that the Government’s cuts are inflicting on patient care, so it is perhaps not surprising that 65% say they have considered leaving the NHS. However, nurses are clearly angry at the impact on patients, with 57% saying they would be prepared to take industrial action if patient care is compromised.“The Health and Social Care Bill is a dangerous experiment and must be dropped. NHS staff have always been prepared to move and modernise, but this is the wrong bill, at the wrong time.“The demand for £20bn in efficiency savings is leading to more patients being cared for by less staff, with trusts forced into making front-line cuts. Some hospitals are now closing wards because of the squeeze on finances and that means patients are waiting longer. This Government is turning the clock back on patient care in the NHS.”Additional Survey results · More than a third (36%) of nurses and midwives had experienced redundancies in their organisation.· 67% said the cuts had adversely affected their health and 69% their family life.· A massive 88% said that their workload had increased in the last year.· 81% ranked caring for patients as being the best aspect of their work