Two-thirds of nurses in UK work while unwell, says union

Nurses across the UK are working while unwell in understaffed hospitals, with stress as the leading cause of illness, according to research.

A survey by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) of more than 20,000 nursing staff found that 66% had worked when they should have been on sick leave, up from 49% in 2017.

Just under two-thirds (65%) of respondents cited stress to be the biggest cause of illness, up from 50% in 2017. Seven out of 10 said they had worked in excess of their contracted hours at least once a week, with about half (52%) doing so unpaid.

The NHS has more than 25,000 nursing vacancies across England.

Prof Nicola Ranger, the RCN chief executive and general secretary, said nursing staff were being driven to ill health by “working in understaffed and under-resourced services”.

“Nursing staff strive to do their best for every patient on every shift, but they are left with the impossible task of caring for dozens and sometimes over a hundred at a time … the reality is they’re not breaking; many are already broken,” Ranger said.

“These findings are yet more cold, hard evidence that there are simply too few nursing staff to meet growing demand. New and urgent investment is desperately needed to grow the nursing workforce, ensuring staff are able to work in a safe environment and that patients get the best care.”

The RCN said it received an average of six calls a day from members regarding staffing levels in their place of work, with many citing burnout, panic attacks and nightmares due to their working conditions. The union said it expected to receive 2,175 calls due to staffing issues by the end of this year, up from 1,837 in 2023.

The survey also heard from staff regarding their experiences of the unsustainable pressures they face due to ill health and understaffing.

One NHS staff nurse in England told the RCN they had developed a chronic illness related to stress but could not leave work “due to the department being overwhelmed and overstretched and […] not wanting to add to that”.

Another staff nurse in an independent care home said they were “dreading going to work knowing we’d be short-staffed” and would “inevitably have to work over my hours, unpaid, just to get everything done”.

An NHS spokesperson said: “Nurses are at the heart of the health service, working hard every day to look after our patients and we recognise there is more to do to address burnout and support their wellbeing.

“The NHS has set out practical steps organisations can take to support nurses and huge numbers are already benefiting from the growing network of thousands of professional nurse advocates in place to support their colleagues’ wellbeing. This year’s graduate guarantee has already helped thousands of newly qualified nurses and midwives to find employment and further reduce vacancies and pressure on frontline nurses.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We hugely value the work of talented nurses, and through our 10-year health plan, we are taking action to improve conditions for the overworked and demoralised workforce we inherited.

“We are also providing better job opportunities for qualified nurses and midwives with a new graduate guarantee to make sure thousands of new posts are easier to access, helping to further reduce the burden on existing staff.”