Number of mental health and learning disability nurses falls ‘significantly’ in a decade

Number of mental health and learning disability nurses falls ‘significantly’ in a decade

NHS Employers says figures show growing gap between workforce and demand for services

New data has revealed a large decline in numbers of nurses specialising in mental health and learning disabilities care in England.

The NHS Digital statistics show there were 36,196 mental health nurses in May this year, compared with 40,602 in September 2009.

Learning disability nurse numbers also declined, falling from 5,553 to 3,201 over the same period.

NHS Employers director of development and employment Sue Covill said: ‘These figures reveal some sobering realities. 

‘In mental health and learning disability nursing, staff numbers have significantly fallen over the past decade, while demand for care and services continues to grow.

‘There is a great deal of work to do to fill those gaps.’

NHS Employers has suggested ways that the government could increase specialist nurse numbers. These include: improving staff retention; developing a supportive policy for migrant nurses; reforming the apprenticeship levy; and reinstating funding for continuing professional development. 

Government cites work to boost nurse numbers

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the interim NHS People Plan will help to raise the profile of mental health and learning disability nursing. 

They added that the nursing degree apprenticeship programme will also boost staff numbers in these specialties.

‘We are already working to ensure that nurses in other sectors can easily move into mental health or learning disability nursing,’ they said. ‘And postgraduate students who started studying last year will receive a £10,000 incentive payment once they take up employment in these specialties.’

Responding to the data, RCN professional lead for mental health Catherine Gamble said the government must be held accountable for nurse numbers.

‘The upcoming spending review is a chance for the government to put their money where their mouth is and invest at least £1 billion a year in nursing higher education,’ she said.

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Nurse safety: boosting numbers 'helps protect against aggression or harassment'

Staff safety found to increase when registered nurse numbers are higher than the clinical requirement

The risk of staff experiencing aggression from patients in mental health settings is influenced by how many registered nurses are on shift, a new study has revealed.  

Researchers from Birmingham City University (BCU) reviewed incidents of patient aggression in inpatient settings, recorded between September 2014 and March 2017, by an NHS mental healthcare provider in England that offers acute and community services. The data were culled from 10 locations (totalling 51 wards) and across the early, late and night shifts. 

They found that fewer incidents were reported by all staff groups when nurse numbers were higher than the clinical requirement, which is calculated according to the condition and number of patients admitted to wards.

Over the time period, 6,520 incidents of aggression by patients towards staff members were reported, affecting 12,138 members of staff.   

A total of 1,762 events characterised as ‘inappropriate behaviour’ were logged, affecting 4,058 members of staff.

There were 298 events classed as ‘sexual incidents’ reported, affecting 493 members of staff.

The study authors analysed the data and found that, on aggregate, each additional registered nurse on the early and late shifts led to a 9% decrease in adverse events reported.

More staff reduces rate of adverse events

BCU’s senior research fellow in health and social care, and one of the study’s authors, Sarahjane Jones, said: ‘There is strong evidence that having more registered nurses to, or above, the clinically required levels does reduce the rate of adverse events.

‘However, this is not consistent across all locations and all shifts, so the message would be that we need to understand what goes on in the wards and shifts. It isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.

‘These findings offer an opportunity for a tightening-up of policy on workforce safety and retention.’

Responding to the findings, a Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesperson said: ‘No one should have to face the threat of violence or aggression at work.’

They added that the interim NHS People Plan outlines steps to reduce vacancies, and that the department was committed to increasing the nursing workforce.

There are now 36,101 mental health nurses in the NHS, said the DHSC spokesperson, adding that this was more than 750 than in June 2017. 

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