Better nurse pay would help solve staffing crisis at closure-threatened ward, campaigners say

Better pay for nurses at Shropshire’s community hospitals is being called for to help address the staffing crisis that has led to one inpatient ward being threatened with permanent closure.

Campaigners put the plea to health bosses at a public meeting in Bishop’s Castle on Monday evening, saying the responsibility shouldered by nurses at rural hospitals, where there is often no doctor present, was not reflected in the current pay offer.

The meeting was called by local councillors following the announcement from Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust (ShropCom) late last month that there was no prospect of re-opening the 16 inpatient beds at the town’s hospital, which have been closed since November 2021, due to ongoing recruitment issues.

The trust is carrying out public engagement and a final decision will be made at a meeting of its board of directors on August 3.

If the board decides it cannot reopen the ward, NHS Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, which commissions health services in the county, could then look to appoint another provider – but senior figures from the organisation told the meeting that the staffing issue would likely remain.

Councillor Heather Kidd, who represents Chirbury and Worthen, said it was hugely important for local people to have access to health services close to home.

She said: “We know from research that when people can have close contact with family and friends easily they do better, and they better quicker.”

Clair Hobbs, director of nursing and workforce at ShropCom, told the meeting that the struggle to recruit registered nurses was a national issue that was being felt right across the trust, which currently has over 100 nursing vacancies.

Ms Hobbs said 60 per cent of nursing posts were vacant at Bishop’s Castle, leaving the trust no option but to close the beds due to safety concerns for both staff and patients.

She said: “Our staff were struggling. They were doing double shifts – doing a day shift and staying on because agency workers hadn’t turned up and doing a night shift as well, which is incredibly unsafe.”

Gill George, chair of Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Defend Our NHS, questioned why the trust had not considered offering recruitment and retention premiums in order to attract more nurses and hang onto them.

She added: “Can you share what efforts you have made to offer posts that are not the lowest possible salary that you are required to pay a registered nurse?

“In a competitive job market, when offering the same band five posts there has to be a strong suspicion that you’re not going to have many people applying.”

However Ms Hobbs said offering incentive payments to new recruits at Bishop’s Castle could shift the problem to other areas.

She said the trust was undertaking overseas recruitment and offering trainee nursing associate positions.

One member of the audience said she had worked at the hospital for several years but retired when the ward closed.

She said: “I feel that the role deserves band six. You take on a lot of responsibility in a very remote area, you have got to think on your feet.

“You are working with no doctor, you are taking a lot of responsibility and it’s not an easy job.

“If you think about what you pay for an agency nurse, that is way more than what a band six would be paid.

“I think you would attract more staff to your community hospitals if they were band six.”

Councillor Nigel Hartin, who represents Clun, asked how likely it was that an alternative provider would come forward in the event that the trust concluded it could no longer run an inpatient ward at the hospital.

Claire Skidmore, deputy chief executive at NHS Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, said it was not possible to say but she did not believe another provider would be able to overcome the staffing issues.

Ms Skidmore also said commissioners would be taking a detailed look at what services could and should be offered at the hospital – which it sees as a “really important community asset” – once the trust’s decision was announced on August 3.

There was also criticism of the current “engagement” process.

Ms George said: “Why is it that this is a ‘blink and you miss it’ engagement and not a formal consultation?

“It’s not good enough to wash your hands of it and pass responsibility to the integrated care board (ICB) at the point where you have already pulled the plug on the hospital beds and the outcome is effectively pre-determined.

“That is playing games. It’s not good enough.”

Ms George also referenced the judicial review brought by a resident last year against the sudden closure – which the trust decided not to fight after it accepted it should not have made the decision without public input.

Ms George said the trust should have learned from this and implored bosses to “do better”.

Councillor Ruth Houghton, who represents Bishop’s Castle, said: “It matters that rural communities are engaged with, consulted and considered when things are being changed.”

Tina Long, chair of the ShropCom board of directors, said: “We hold our hands up and say with hindsight we could have started this process sooner.”

To have your say, go to shropscommunityhealth.nhs.uk

By Carmelo Garcia - Local Democracy Reporter