The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has questioned the need for a proposed law that could see doctors and nurses imprisoned for ‘willful neglect’.
Dr Peter Carter, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “The Royal College of Nursing will never excuse those who willfully neglect patients and where individual clinicians are guilty then it is absolutely right that they are held to account. However, remedies already exist to tackle staff who are guilty of harming patients and we would question whether a new law is actually required.” Instead, the RCN has highlighted the need to examine the broader context in which care is being delivered, including staffing levels: “When things go wrong, as well as looking at the actions of an individual clinician, we also need to look at the whole system that surrounds a care failing,” said Dr Carter. “Too often, frontline staff are trying to deliver care against a backdrop of intense pressure and woefully inadequate staffing levels. As well as the actions of individuals, it is equally important that we focus on the decisions that employers make about their staffing levels which all too often result in poor care. “If the Government is willing to look at introducing new legislation to protect patients, then the area it should be concentrating on is ensuring legally enforceable safe staffing levels. This measure would have the single biggest impact in improving care across the NHS.”
