Safer Staffing

The National Quality Board’s has published guidance entitled: "How to ensure the right people, with the right skill, are in the right place at the right time: a guide to nursing, midwifery and care staffing capacity and capability."

The document can be viewed by clicking here.

The guide sets out 10 expectations on NHS providers and commissioners as follows:

• EXPECTATION 1: Boards take full responsibility for the quality of care provided to patients, and as a key determinant of quality, take full and collective responsibility for nursing, midwifery and care staffing capacity and capability.
   
• EXPECTATION 2: Processes are in place to enable staffing establishments to be met on a shift-to-shift basis.
   
• EXPECTATION 3: Evidence-based tools are used to inform nursing, midwifery and care staffing capacity and capability.
   
• EXPECTATION 4: Clinical and managerial leaders foster a culture of professionalism and responsiveness, where staff feel able to raise concerns
   
• EXPECTATION 5: A multi-professional approach is taken when setting nursing, midwifery and care staffing establishments.
   
• EXPECTATION 6: Nurses, midwives and care staff have sufficient time to fulfil responsibilities that are additional to their direct caring duties.
   
• EXPECTATION 7: Boards receive monthly updates on workforce information, and staffing capacity and capability is discussed at a public Board meeting at least every six months on the basis of a full nursing and midwifery establishment review.
   
• EXPECTATION 8: NHS providers clearly display information about the nurses, midwives and care staff present on each ward, clinical setting, department or service on each shift.
   
• EXPECTATION 9: Providers of NHS services take an active role in securing staff in line with their workforce requirements.
   
• EXPECTATION 10: Commissioners actively seek assurance that the right people, with the right skills, are in the right place at the right time within the providers with whom they contract.

Monthly Reports

In this section, we publish the data we send monthly to NHS England. Please note that the submitted files are in XLSM format.