Royal College of Nursing says 'short-sighted' decision-making by NHS trusts will lead to unnecessary hospitalisation
Patients risk being forced into hospital because of cuts to specialist nursing that helps them stay at home, according to the Royal College of Nursing.
One-to-one care for people with conditions such as cancer, diabetes and multiple sclerosis is being hit because nurses are forced to cover for staff shortages elsewhere, including on general wards, the RCN said.
It accused NHS trusts of making short-sighted decisions and cited work it had done with the independent Office for Public Management (OPM) which suggested nurse-led schemes could save as much as £23 for every £1 invested in them.
The RCN said its survey of nearly 800 specialist nurses showed nearly two-thirds were seeing cuts in their specialist area and more than a third were being asked to work outside their specialism to fill staffing gaps. Almost one in 10 said they were at risk of redundancy.
Peter Carter, the RCN's chief executive and general secretary, said: "It is astounding that in the face of such compelling evidence the NHS is once more engaging in a misguided raid on the budgets for specialist services, which save massive amounts of money in the long run. This will seriously damage both the NHS budget and patient care."
One OPM analysis suggested that an oxygen therapy service in Central and Eastern Cheshire primary care trust saved up to £1.1m a year and improved the quality of patients' lives. Over a nine-month period nearly 300 patients who once would have been admitted to hospital were kept at home. Patients kept their independence and were less likely to develop infections acquired in hospitals.
Another project, to help cut bedsores among people in two care homes in Shipley, West Yorkshire, had helped save about £90,000 over six months and improved their quality of life.
Carter said: "Imagine for instance that you are diagnosed with cancer – a life changing experience with massive emotional and physical implications. With a specialist nurse you will have one expert, your nurse, who can guide you from dealing with the diagnosis, helping your family, avoiding the complications of treatment, and keeping you out of hospital.
"That person is your frontline. Without this consistent help and support, we fear that many people will be sent back to hospital unnecessarily; this is not just a cause of unnecessary distress, it is a false economy, and the consequences will be felt by patients throughout the NHS."
The RCN's argument was supported by Ciarán Devane, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support.
"We know that the NHS is under a lot of pressure to cut costs," he said, "but NHS managers need to make good choices on how they respond to this.
"Instead of asking some specialist nurses to do routine work, they should ensure specialist nurses are using their skills to make patients happier and healthier so they spend less time in hospital – therefore saving the NHS money."