The shortage of nurses in the NHS Scholarship Essay

The deficit of nurses in the NHS - Scholarship Essay Example6. Work Climate, which includesa. Dissatisfaction with pay b. add-on in executeloadc. Lack of empowermentd. EU Legislatione. Poor working conditions7. Poor Perception of Nursing as a professionThe thesis also discusses solution to this problem like better workforce planning, recruitment effort, focus on international recruitment and improvement of breast feeding as a profession.1. IntroductionAs pointed by OBrien-Pallas et al (2001) state that the cycles of shortages and surpluses, which have been a source of frustration for nurses in practice, planners, researchers, administrators and funders, are intimately linked with the quality of nurses work life, the health of nurses and the quality of care they are able to provide. The quality of work life can affect not only the systems ability to recruit and apply nurses, but also overall system costs related to the productive use of available nursing resources. And therefore a need to study this phenomenon of shortage of nurses, its causes and possible solutions is important.It is wide acknowledged that NHS has been facing a growing shortage of nurses. While some parts are experiencing shortage at a high rate than others (London for example), it has been genuine that there is a national shortage. It is believed that UK may be a on a downhill road on the issue of deficiency of nursing module and that it is no more a problem of organizations alone, but that of the leaders and law makers of the country. It is said that NHS is unable to deliver good quality health care due to the squelch it faces on account of lack of nursing expertise. Need for nurses is depicted as cyclical in nature. Mullen (2003) points out that that the Department of Health recognizes this... It is widely acknowledged that NHS has been facing a growing shortage of nurses. While some parts are experiencing shortage at a higher rate than others (London for example), it has been accep ted that there is a national shortage. It is believed that UK may be a on a downhill road on the issue of lack of nursing staff and that it is no more a problem of organizations alone, but that of the leaders and law makers of the country. It is said that NHS is unable to deliver good quality healthcare due to the pressure it faces on account of lack of nursing expertise. Need for nurses is depicted as cyclical in nature. Mullen (2003) points out that that the Department of Health recognizes this problem and NHS has revisited its targets to increase the nursing workforce in all clinical professions in 2000. Mullen (2003) points out that a report published by the Audit Commission (2002) drew attention to the distressfulness of the workforce shortage, stating that the biggest constraint the NHS faces today is no longer a shortage of financial resources. It is shortage of human resources (p.346).The previous three decades have seen a mutant in the nursing workforce strength in UK. T here was a dearth of nurses till the 80s and then a sharp rise from 80s through the 90s.