Shortages of learning disability nurses could lead to a “serious deficit of skills”, the Government’s NHS watchdog has warned.
The warning comes in draft national guidance on safe staffing levels laid out by NHS Improvement.
Kathryn Yates: recruiting learning disability nurses should be an “urgent priority”
The guidance document calls on NHS bodies to do more to bolster the profession to help attract recruits.
It reads: “NHS organisations must promote this career choice and closely monitor those entering graduate placements as well as considering alternative routes to qualification.”
Failure to investigate deaths
The guidance comes after a report found Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust had failed to investigate the unexpected deaths of more than 1,000 people since 2011.
The December 2015 report found that managers had not properly investigated the deaths of mental health and learning disability patients.
NHS Improvement said the “significant number of highly skilled health professionals approaching retirement age is already affecting retention”.
As well as nurses, numbers of psychiatrists and “allied healthcare professionals is expected to fall short of future demand”. Without action to remedy the situation, “there will be a serious deficit of skills in the workplace”.
Fewer learning disability nurses in training
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warned there are fewer learning disability nurses in training than ever before. There were now on-third fewer posts than in 2010.
Kathryn Yates, RCN spokeswoman for primary and community care, called on the UK government to make recruiting learning disability nurses an “urgent priority”.
She said: “If learning disability nurse numbers continue to fall, specialised care will suffer.”
In a statement, the Department of Health said it hopes to have 40,000 more nurses in place by 2020.
The statement reads: “We have recently shown our commitment to improving care for people with learning disabilities by investing £25m to create specially adapted housing for this group, allowing them to live independently, with a level of care appropriate for them.”
Published: 12 January 2017
