Opinion

Report on children's hospital raises issues of concern

Further evidence of the pressures arising from staff shortages in our hospitals has come from a worrying report by the watchdog body, the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA).

It has been apparent for some time that difficulties over staff recruitment is causing problems within the health service and the care home sector.

It is one of the pressing issues that needs urgent attention although it must be acknowledged that this is a matter that is not new. For some time, the Royal College of Nurses has been warning about the impact of staff shortages while there are well-documented problems over attracting specialist doctors to some hospitals in the north.

The latest report highlighting this issue arose from an unannounced RQIA inspection carried out at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children in May this year.

It is important to point out that inspectors praised the work of doctors and nurses who responded `compassionately to the needs of children and their relatives.'

However, the main area of concern appears to be focused on the way the hospital is managed. According to the report: ``The hospital was described as having a disconnected leadership.''

Nursing staffing levels and middle grade doctor shortages had impacted on workload and morale, said inspectors.

There were other areas of concern in relation to the Barbour Ward - which provides care to children following surgery as well as general medical treatment - and the A&E department and short stay assessment unit.

It is certainly alarming to hear words such as 'substandard' when referring to the ward environment in the children's hospital while the Belfast Trust has accepted there are areas that would 'benefit from improvement.'

The trust has also pointed out that an additional six nurses have been recruited since the report was carried out, which is a welcome step.

Nevertheless, this report has identified clear areas of concern in the children's hospital which need to be addressed at the highest levels of management.