Majority of A&E nurses fear being struck off for ‘corridor care’

Nursing staff say they are “broken” and had even felt “suicidal” over the quality of care they were able to provide.

The majority of nurses working in Accident and Emergency departments fear being struck off the nursing register.

According to the Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) Emergency Care Association, more than 60% of registered nurses working across emergency care are worried about facing the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

It comes as the union raises concerns over the increasingly common practice of treating patients in “inappropriate areas” such as corridors and waiting rooms.

A survey of over 500 specialist A&E nurses found that the vast majority (90%) believed patients were receiving unsafe care and their dignity, privacy and confidentiality is compromised by the practice.

Nursing staff told the union they were “broken” and had even felt “suicidal” due to the quality of care they were able to provide.

A bleak picture.

RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said:  “This bleak picture comes from right across the NHS. Patients backed-up through emergency departments is a stark sign of a health and care system grinding to a halt. A corridor is no place to die and no place to work either.

“When ministers fail to grip this situation, they allow patients to pay a high price and nursing staff to work in fear, professionally compromised. Governments must urgently plan and invest to reverse this new trend.”

In her keynote address tomorrow at the union’s annual Congress, Ms Cullen will add “health and care systems around the UK are sailing dangerously close to the wind.”

Responding to the news, NMC Chief Executive and Registrar Andrea Sutcliffe said the regulator would “look beyond the individual” if concerns were raised.Ms Sutcliffe added, “We know concerns that may appear to be the result of poor individual practice can actually be caused by systemic pressures and other factors professionals might face. That’s why we always take context into account when concerns are raised with us.