The Nurse Staffing Levels Act became law in Wales in March 2016 and places a duty on Welsh health boards and trusts to ensure that nurses have enough time to care for patients. The first duty of the Act applies to any settings where nursing care is provided or commissioned. The second duty currently only applies to adult acute medical and surgical inpatient wards and paediatric inpatient wards.
The number of nursing staff required to provide safe and appropriate care to patients.
In addition to the nursing staff, you may see other healthcare staff on the ward who undertake specific tasks to support the delivery of patient care. For example, a physiotherapist or a rehabilitation assistant.
The nurse staffing level varies from ward to ward, depending on the number of patients and the kind of nursing that patients’ need. We bring together three sources of information, the nurses’ professional judgement, how sick or dependant the patients are and the safety and quality of care provided by each ward.
The Executive Director of Nursing is responsible for deciding the nurse staffing level following discussions with the nursing team responsible for each ward.
The nurse staffing level for each ward should be reviewed every 6 months; if something changes on the ward (e.g. - the number of beds being used); or if the nursing team think that a review needs to take place.
The nurse in charge will plan a staffing roster which aims to ensure that the number of staff on duty reflects the required nurse staffing level and will liaise with the nurse manager when there is a gap in the staffing level. On occasions, the planned roster may be changed in response to an assessment of patient need; this would be based on the professional judgement of the nursing team.
If there are gaps in the planned roster or additional nursing staff are needed temporary workers from nurse bank or agency could be engaged if required to maintain the nurse staffing level to ensure the delivery of safe and appropriate care.
The Nurse Staffing Level for each adult acute medical and surgical ward and paediatric ward is displayed on the ward and an information leaflet has been devised for patients. If you have any questions and/or concerns regarding the nurse staffing levels on the ward, please ask to speak to the Ward Manager, Sister, or Charge Nurse.