| Winter is coming and that usually means an influx of | | | | mix, and the potential for disaster becomes all to |
| new patient admissions. Couple this with the inevitable | | | | evident. |
| staff sickness levels and not forgetting the effects of | | | | However, use of a nursing agency can alleviate many |
| the latest swine flu epidemic and we have a potential | | | | of these problems. Most agencies have access to a |
| risk of serious staff shortages at many healthcare | | | | large bank of well qualified and experienced staff who |
| providers. Turning patients away or closing beds is | | | | care available at short notice, making them ideal for |
| sometimes the only answer but it should only be used | | | | covering short term holiday leave and sickness. |
| as a very last resort. Recent studies have shown that | | | | Because a nursing agency must be regulated, at least |
| 40% of nurses already believe that patient care is | | | | in the UK, and the fact that candidates are vetted |
| being compromised because of staff shortages on a | | | | extensively by the nursing agency themselves, then |
| regular basis. | | | | the risk of unsuitable candidates is actually lower than |
| Similar studies have shown that more than half of | | | | if the healthcare organisation had to source them on |
| nursing staff say they are too busy to provide the | | | | their own. |
| level of care they would like and two thirds consider | | | | On the flip side, many nursing staff find that a nursing |
| their workload to be too heavy. This situation leads to | | | | agency can offer a wider range of opportunities and |
| increased levels of stress, anxiety and inevitably time | | | | more and more staff are warming to the fact that |
| off. Add the fact that many healthcare managers are | | | | they can gain a wider range of career experience by |
| under pressure to make cuts where they can, into the | | | | working for a nursing agency. |