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Nurses 'forced to ration care'

Hospital nurses are being forced to "ration care" because they don't have enough time to properly look after patients, a new study suggests. Fundamental aspects of care are "frequently being left undone", researchers found.

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Cutting nursing posts is a 'false economy'

Cutting nursing posts to save money is a false economy, leading to poor care and creating more strain on the system, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing said today, after a report found that nurses were having to "ration care" due to time pressures.

Dr Peter Carter said:

These are depressing findings and unfortunately not surprising.

When nurses are overloaded with tasks, and have extremely limited time to complete them, something has to give. Without enough staff on the ground it's vital care such as having the time to talk with, and reassure, patients that suffers.

We need to prevent poor care by making sure wards are well staffed, not just use poor care as an early warning sign. We urge all employers to make use of this research.

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