Dangerous staffing levels in Borders hospitals, says union

Unison says staffing levels are at dangerous levels in Scottish Borders hospitals

A trade union has written to every politician representing the Scottish Borders to highlight "dangerous staffing levels" in local hospitals.

Unison claims serious breaches of safety guidelines are occurring daily due to a lack of nurses, auxiliaries and porters.

The letter says staff are unable to take proper rest breaks or log serious incidents in the reporting system.

NHS Borders said patient and staff safety was its number one priority.

Unison said working conditions in the area were regularly in breach of regulations.

Greig Kelbie, the union's regional officer in the Borders, said: "We are getting regular messages from our members to tell us about the pressure they are under - and that they can't cope.

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"The care system was under pressure before Covid, but the pandemic has exasperated the situation, particularly at NHS Borders.

"The NHS has been stretched to its limits and it is now at the stage where it is dangerous for patients and staff - we're often told about serious breaches of health and safety, particularly at Borders General Hospital where there are issues with flooring and staff falling.

"We work collaboratively with NHS Borders to do what we can, but we also wanted to make politicians aware of how bad things have become.

"We need our politicians to step up and implement change - we want them to make sure the Health and Care Act is brought to the fore and that it protects our members."

Bank system

The Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 was introduced to ensure the wellbeing of staff, provide safe and high quality services, and to improve standards.

But staff shortages have increased significantly across all health boards during the pandemic due to self-isolating and Covid-related illnesses.

Unison, which represents hundreds of health staff and care workers in the region, believes NHS Borders staff are at a further disadvantage due the staff bank system partnership with the Lothians for covering vacant shifts.

Mr Kelbie added: "The Borders shares a bank with Lothians health and that is proving quite challenging as most people on the bank prefer to take the shifts in Edinburgh and the Lothians rather than coming down here.

"We've raised the issues already at a local level, and now we're raising them with the decision-makers in the parliaments."

NHS Borders chief executive Ralph Roberts assured all staff last month that his board was determined to address challenges caused by staff shortages.

'Duty of care'

A further meeting took place this week with trade union representatives to reassure them that management's focus is on making services as safe as possible.

Mr Roberts added: "We have a duty of care to our staff, patients, students and volunteers.

"We fully acknowledge the challenges staff continue to face as a result of service pressures, the level of staffing gaps because of vacancies, leave and sickness absence - and the continued impact of Covid-19.

"We are committed to working to meet the requirements of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act.

"Whilst we continue to take steps to support improvement, including a series of actions to improve patient flow and work on a local workforce strategy and plan, we acknowledge there are no short-term fixes and that the health and social care system is experiencing significant pressure across the whole of Scotland and the rest of the UK.

"We would like to take this opportunity to reassure people that patient and staff safety remains our number one priority and thank our staff, once again, for their continued commitment and professionalism during such difficult times."