Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is committed to delivering safe and compassionate care, every time. To do this we need to ensure that we have the right staff in the right place at the right time.

We use a real-time monitoring system which enables ward managers to monitor, escalate and manage staffing to ensure that our wards are safely staffed at all times delivering high-quality healthcare when and where it is needed.

Our nurses and healthcare practitioners use their clinical judgement and professional expertise to manage staffing appropriately. In situations where staff levels fall below the agreed number our nurses take immediate action to address the situation. This might include:

• Redistributing staff across wards
• Delaying non-urgent admissions
• Transferring high-dependency patients to less pressured settings
• Calling in staff on leave
• Drafting in agency or bank nurses

Details of our monthly staffing levels for nursing, midwifery and care staff on all inpatient wards across the Trust can be found on this page as part of a national commitment to putting patients first.

What is safe staffing?

Since 2013 the Trust’s staffing levels have been, and continue to be, delivered according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance for safe staffing for nursing in adult inpatient wards in acute hospitals, which recognises that patients’ needs differ from day to day. Our senior nursing staff use their day-to-day professional judgement to ensure that the right nursing care is available on our wards at the right time.

On wards showing a return of below 100% of planned staff on duty remedial action is taken by the nurse in charge to ensure that appropriately skilled nursing or healthcare staff are in place to cover the shortfall and ensure patient safety. On some occasions admissions can be adjusted to ensure there is sufficient nursing staff to care for all patients safely at all times.

Wards showing more than 100% of planned staff on duty report higher levels of staffing due to either extra or emergency demand requiring more beds or patients requiring more specialised one-to-one care. Senior nurses make this decision on a day-to-day basis to ensure safe staffing.

Safe staffing on the wards

As well as monthly safe staffing data on this page you will find a ‘safe staffing board’ on every ward. These boards are updated at each shift to show the planned number of staff for that ward, the actual number of staff on that ward and details of the ward manager at that time.

The boards are designed to give patients and their friends, family and visitors peace of mind that our wards are safely staffed at all times. If you have any concerns about staffing on a ward that you are on or visiting you should speak to the person named on the ward’s safe staffing board.

Last month’s performance - September 2018

Overall the Trust is compliant with safe staffing. Teams work hard across their specialities and at times across divisions to keep patients safe every day.

The Trust is working towards filling its nursing vacancies. 

Full details can be found in our September 2018 data.

This data shows on a ward-by-ward basis how we are succeeding in our ambition to deliver ‘above safe’ levels of staffing and, should we fall short of our expectations, information on why and how we intend to improve.

You will find:

• Details of the planned number of staff for each ward
• Details of the actual number of staff for each ward
• A percentage ‘fill rate’ for staff which indicates if we met our planned number of staff that month

More information

For more information about our ward staffing data contact the Deputy Chief Nurse

To access data from previous months please click here.