Welcoming today’s announcement by Jane Cummings, Chief Nursing Officer of NHS England that nurse staffing levels will be published online in April, Chris Perry, Director of Nursing, Weston Area Health NHS Trust said:
“Publishing nurse staffing levels is a move towards accountability and transparency and totally in keeping with a modern day NHS.
“In fact, we already display this information (either on or outside all our wards) so that our patients and visitors can see nurse staffing levels for themselves. We’ve been doing this since April of this year as part of our best practice. This data is also used to monitor ward performance and identify any emerging issues before they may possibly become more serious.
“Good patient care isn’t just about numbers however. We also model nursing values by promoting the NHS ‘6 Cs’ (care, compassion, competence, communication, courage, commitment) and through our own PRIDE values for all Weston staff (People, Respect, Innovation, Dignity and Excellence).