SAFE STAFFING ON HOSPITAL WARDS

Early day motion 687, tabled 13 January 2015 by Andrew George (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 32 members.

That this House welcomes the Safe Staffing Alliance Manifesto which emphasises that patient safety is compromised significantly when the ratio of eight patients to each registered nurse, excluding the nurse in charge, is breached, and that even the ratio of seven patients to each registered nurse results in care being missed; notes its recommendation that safe nurse/patient ratios should be enforced and its finding that 45 per cent of hospital wards have unsafe staff levels; acknowledges that poor care does not only cost more, but causes more complications and deaths; and therefore calls on the Government to implement a transparent fundamental standard which should ensure that each hospital ward is staffed safely and never reaches the unsafe ratio of 1:8.

Signatures by party: Labour 15, Liberal Democrat 8, DUP 3, Alliance 1, Conservative 1, Green 1, Independent 1, Respect 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1.