National Assembly for Wales / Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru
Health and Social Care Committee / Y Pwyllgor Iechyd a Gofal Cymdeithasol

Safe Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Bill/ Bil Lefelau Diogel Staff Nyrsio (Cymru)

Evidence from Pediatric Intensive Care Unit – SNSL(Org) 11 / Tystiolaeth gan Uned Gofal Dwys Pediatrig – SNSL(Org) 11

Submission of written evidence for the Consultation on the Safe Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Bill

We as clinicians agree wholeheartedly that there is a need for legislation to make provision about safe nurse staffing levels. However, the legislation should apply to both children and adult services.

As paediatric clinicians we are very concerned that children’s services have currently been left out of the bill. Adult-centric legislation could lead to the funding and staffing of children’s services being squeezed further, to compensate for the likely increased staffing levels rightly required in adult services as the result of this legislation.

Articles 2 and 24 from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as detailed below also support the need for the Bill to apply to children’s services.

Article 2 (Non-discrimination): The Convention applies to all children, whatever their race, religion or abilities; whatever they think or say, whatever type of family they come from. It doesn’t matter where children live, what language they speak, what their parents do, whether they are boys or girls, what their culture is, whether they have a disability or whether they are rich or poor. No child should be treated unfairly on any basis.

Article 24 (Health and health services): Children have the right to good quality health care – the best health care possible – to safe drinking water, nutritious food, a clean and safe environment, and information to help them stay healthy. Rich countries should help poorer countries achieve this.

There will be a need for robust workforce planning and dialogue between the Health Service and the Universities to ensure that sufficient numbers of nurses with the required skills are being developed.

We strongly support that the health service bodies have a duty to have regard to the importance of ensuring an appropriate level of nurse staffing wherever NHS nursing care is provided. The executive boards should be held accountable for this.

We strongly support that health service bodies have a duty to take all reasonable steps to maintain minimum registered nurse to patient ratios and minimum registered nurse to healthcare support workers ratios in both paediatric and adult wards and critical care facilities, from the outset of its implementation.

Malcolm Gajraj

Lead clinician, Paediatric ICU,

Cardiff

(on behalf of the consultant body)