Growing numbers of hospital units providing cancer care and children's services are being forced to close due to the NHS's deepening staffing crisis, leaving patients to travel long distances for treatment. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned that 'skeleton staffing' is causing patient suffering, with Dame Donna Kinnair, acting chief executive, stating that 'every day brings fresh and devastating examples of patients paying the highest price for staffing shortage.'
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in King's Lynn, Norfolk, is considering closing one ward and moving cancer surgery to Norwich, an 80-mile round trip, after failing to recruit enough nurses. Sir Henry Bellingham, Conservative MP for north-west Norfolk, called the move 'an admission of defeat' that would 'seriously damage morale.' A protest was held in King's Lynn on Saturday against the plan.
In Wolverhampton, New Cross Hospital is preparing to receive extra patients as the A&E unit at Princess Royal Hospital in Telford begins overnight closures in December due to staffing shortages. Dr Rob Harwood, chair of the British Medical Association's consultants committee, said: 'The NHS is already chronically understaffed, and this is inevitably impacting upon hospitals and their ability to adequately staff departments and services.'
Dorset HealthCare NHS trust is also phasing out the 16-bed Saxon ward at Wareham community hospital due to a lack of nurses. Chief executive Ron Shields said: 'Everything has been done to try and secure the qualified nurses to run the ward safely but, unfortunately, that has not been possible.' The BMA has warned that Brexit could worsen the situation if fewer EU doctors come to work in Britain.
