Community nurses face ‘no go zones’ and abuse, health leaders warn
Community nursing staff are facing increasing levels of intimidation, discrimination and abuse while delivering care in people’s homes, health leaders have warned, with some describing areas as feeling like ‘no go zones’.
NHS Providers’ State of the Provider Sector report, which presents findings from its annual survey of NHS trust leaders, found that more than three-quarters (77%) of respondents are worried about discrimination against staff from patients and the public.
One NHS trust leader, speaking to the PA news agency, highlighted the particular risks for nurses working in the community. ‘You are a nurse going into a home on your own, locking the door behind you,’ they said.
‘It can be a really precarious situation… They [nurses] handle that absolutely brilliantly.’
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The trust leader described how some staff, particularly those from minority ethnic backgrounds, felt deliberately targeted and intimidated while working in areas where St George’s flags had recently been displayed in large numbers. ‘It felt like the flags were up creating no go zones. That’s what it felt like to them,’ he said.
The same leader added: ‘On top of real autonomous working, that real bravery of working in people’s homes, with an environment … [where] it feels like it’s an area that’s designed to exclude them… our staff continue to work in that environment, and I think they deserve our real praise and thanks as a nation, frankly, for doing that within those really difficult circumstances.’
In response, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said community-based staff were especially exposed to harm and called on employers and politicians to act.
Professor Nicola Ranger, RCN general secretary and chief executive, said: ‘Nursing staff dedicate their lives to caring for others, and too often they are faced with the most appalling hatred and intimidation.
‘Those working in the community feel especially vulnerable and employers have a duty to ensure they are protected.’
She described a ‘growing number of nursing staff report feeling unsafe, particularly when having to work on their own and often at night’.
Professor Ranger added that anti-migrant rhetoric was fuelling racism within healthcare and called on the government to ‘stop pandering to dangerous anti-migrant sentiments’.
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Duncan Burton had pointed to an increase in ‘public debates and tensions’ – including protest marches and the erection of thousands of St George’s flags across towns and cities.
The NHS Providers survey also found that while more than half of trust leaders (52%) rated care quality in their area as high or very high – the most positive figure since before the pandemic – concerns about workforce wellbeing remain widespread.
According to the survey, 79% of trust leaders are concerned about staff burnout, while 74% cited low morale as a major risk.
NHS Providers said trust leaders want to see faster progress in shifting care into the community and greater investment in mental health.
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Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: ‘We see the desire for a well-supported workforce, ready and able to provide the high-quality care patients deserve. These are key ingredients to win back public trust in the NHS.’
The survey also found that nearly two-thirds of trust leaders (64%) were worried about the potential impact of planned strikes by resident doctors, scheduled to begin on 14 November.
‘More strikes now could crush this fragile, hard-won progress, wiping out a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix the health service,’ Mr Elkeles added.
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