UK Nurses At Breaking Point As Attacks And Bullying Increase
Main Category: Nursing News
Article Date: 06 Mar 2006 - 0:00am (UK)
Violent attacks against nurses are increasing and their psychological wellbeing is worsening according to a new survey published today by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). Nearly three-thousand nurses from across the UK responded to the ‘Working Well - At Breaking Point' survey, which questions nurses about their working lives and issues such as bullying and stress.
The survey looked at exposure to stressors at work, and found that nurses experienced more stress than the general working population, measured by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) stress standards. This was related to issues such as violent and abusive attacks by patients and relatives, bullying, work demands, control over their work and relationship with colleagues. Low scores on the HSE stressors scales are associated with lower levels of job satisfaction and a greater desire to look for another job.
Four in ten nurses report they have been harassed or assaulted by patients or their relatives in the last 12 months (an increase of 6% from 2000). This figure rises to 79% of nurses working in accident and emergency. More than a quarter (27%) of the survey's respondents said they had been physically attacked at work; almost half of these said they had been assaulted in the previous year.
Instances of bullying are also on the rise. In 2000, 17% said they were bullied or harassed. By 2005, nearly a quarter of respondents had been bullied or harassed at work in the past twelve months. Almost half (45%) of those who reported being bullied or harassed said that a manager was the source of the problem. Over two thirds of people who reported bullying problems to their employer said that they were unhappy with the outcome.
Nurses' levels of psychological wellbeing have also lowered since the survey was conducted in 2000 and is considerably poorer than that of the general population. Four out of ten nurses were found to have varying degrees of problems with their psychological wellbeing; 14% scored as psychologically healthy but experiencing some difficulties; a further 12% are experiencing a broader range of difficulties and 14% are experiencing raised levels of distress where some help may be required.
The RCN has been calling for nurses to have access to changing and uniform laundering facilities to combat MRSA and other Health Care Acquired Infections (HCAI). Yet, the Working Well survey found that the number of nurses with access to changing facilities has dropped from 61% in 2000 to 50% in 2005. Only 39% of nurses have access to showering facilities at work. Just 35% of hospital based NHS nurses said their employer provided a uniform laundering service, dropping to 30% in independent hospitals.
Beverly Malone, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “Nursing is a hugely rewarding profession, but this survey demonstrates the tough issues that nurses are facing everyday on top of a job that is physically and mentally demanding. Added to these pressures, nurses are being threatened with yet more reforms, pay cuts and job losses.
“If we are going to bring more people into nursing and stop others leaving we have got to tackle these problems. We must make nurses' working lives better and safer so that they can focus on creating a safe healing environment and caring for their patients.”
The Working Well Survey was conducted by Employment Research on behalf of the Royal College of Nursing. The responses of 2790 nurses from across the UK were used to write the 2005 Working Well Survey. The first Working Well Survey was conducted in 2000. Both surveys can be viewed on the RCN website at rcn.org.uk/publications.
The HSE has devised a stress indicator tool. It covers 35 statements, which relate to the six primary stressors listed above (also see appendices). By using the tool the HSE has compiled substantial data against which the performance of specific groups of staff can be contrasted.
The CORE-OM is a series of 34 questions concerning psychological health and wellbeing. By using this it is possible to calculate the CORE mean score across the 34 questions . All of the questions in the measure are scored on a scale of 0 to 4, with 0 indicating the healthiest state and 4 indicating the least healthy state. The mean score is multiplied by 10. This figure represents the CORE clinical score, which has a range from 0 to 40 with low scores indicating positive wellbeing.
http://www.rcn.org.uk
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