I worked in a small hospital which managed some very complex patients. Over the last 2 years the workforce has left, many due to retiral, which has left a huge gap in the experience of the workforce through no fault of theirs. The things that would have been undertaken, even 5 years ago, are no longer possible as there is no one with any experience available to pass their skills on to the upcoming trained nurses. Nurse training is inadequate & staff need to be given proper training to provide skills relevant to the job that they are going to be performing. Once staff are trained they need to be given time & remuneration to undertake training to upskill which will also go some way to making them feel valued. The govt were well aware of the potential issues around the aging workforce & the mass staff shortage that was looming decades ago & sadly did nothing to prevent or deal with it. This has left the whole health service in a very precarious position which may prove very costly.
There is no real effort to recruit or retain staff - it seems a deliberate ploy given that banners announcing NHS Highland are hiring are displayed on the 3rd floor external wall of a building looking out to see - these banners have a QR code which needs to be scanned. How on earth can that be achieved from 3 floors down? Be serious and show that you are serious about actually recruiting, valuing and retaining staff and maybe we can take you seriously.
Nursing revalidation is by far the trigger for staff retiring because they do not want the hassle of going through that process. It also means that they cannot return in a part time capacity after retiring, which is robbing the workforce of valuable experience. This is the NMC's fault, not the governments.
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