NHS: Staff

(asked on 15th July 2015) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to commission research on safe staffing levels and clinical outcomes.


Answered by
 Portrait
Ben Gummer
This question was answered on 20th July 2015

The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) commissions research evidence to improve the quality, accessibility and organisation of health services through the NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research programme. Research of particular relevance to the relationship between staffing levels and clinical outcomes includes:

- a published study of the efficient use of the maternity workforce and the implications for safety and quality in maternity care:

- www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/hsdr/volume-2/issue-38#abstract

- a current study on the future of 24/7 care: investigating the links between staffing levels, patient access and inequalities in health outcomes:

- www.nets.nihr.ac.uk/projects/hsdr/1212848

- a current study on nurse staffing levels, missed vital signs observations and mortality in hospital wards:

- www.nets.nihr.ac.uk/projects/hsdr/1311417

The programme is currently commissioning research on measuring nursing input, workload, activity and care. In addition to this, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health announced on 16 July that NHS Improvement will have safety and quality at the heart of the organisation's remit and Dr Mike Durkin's safety function will move there. One of Dr Durkin's early priorities will be working with the Chief Nursing Officer to complete the work started by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on safe staffing levels. This will be independently reviewed by NICE, the Chief Inspector of hospitals, and Sir Robert Francis to ensure it meets the high standards of care the National Health Service aspires to.

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