Two-thirds of nurses in UK work while unwell, says union
Nurses across the UK are working while unwell in understaffed hospitals, with stress as the leading cause of illness, according to research.A survey by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) of more than 20,000 nursing staff found that 66% had worked when they should have been on sick leave, up from 49% in 2017.Just under two-thirds (65%) of respondents cited stress to be the biggest cause of illness, up from 50% in 2017.Seven out of 10 said they had worked in excess of their contracted hours at least once a week, with about half (52%) doing so unpaid.The NHS has more than 25,000 nursing vacancies across England.
Prof Nicola Ranger, the RCN chief executive and general secretary, said nursing staff were being driven to ill health by “working in understaffed and under-resourced services”.“Nursing staff strive to do their best for every patient on every shift, but they are left with the impossible task of caring for dozens and sometimes over a hundred at a time … the reality is they’re not breaking; many are already broken,” Ranger said.“These findings are yet more cold, hard evidence that there are simply too few nursing staff to meet growing demand.New and urgent investment is desperately needed to grow the nursing workforce, ensuring staff are able to work in a safe environment and that patients get the best care.”The RCN said it received an average of six calls a day from members regarding staffing levels in their place of work, with many citing burnout, panic attacks and nightmares due to their working conditions.
The union said it expected to receive 2,175 calls due to staffing issues by the end of this year, up from 1,837 in 2023.The survey also heard from staff regarding their experiences of the unsustainable pressures they face due to ill health and understaffing.One NHS staff nurse in England told the RCN they had developed a chronic illness related to stress but could not leave work “due to the department being overwhelmed and overstretched and […] not wanting to add to that”.Another staff nurse in an independent care home said they were “dreading going to work knowing we’d be short-staffed” and would “inevitably have to work over my hours, unpaid, just to get everything done”.Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionAn NHS spokesperson said: “Nurses are at the heart of the health service, working hard every day to look after our patients and we recognise there is more to do to address burnout and support their wellbeing.
“The NHS has set out practical steps organisations can take to support nurses and huge numbers are already benefiting from the growing network of thousands of professional nurse advocates in place to support their colleagues’ wellbeing.This year’s graduate guarantee has already helped thousands of newly qualified nurses and midwives to find employment and further reduce vacancies and pressure on frontline nurses.”A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We hugely value the work of talented nurses, and through our 10-year health plan, we are taking action to improve conditions for the overworked and demoralised workforce we inherited.“We are also providing better job opportunities for qualified nurses and midwives with a new graduate guarantee to make sure thousands of new posts are easier to access, helping to further reduce the burden on existing staff.”
‘Simple, well-crafted and excellent’: supermarket chutneys, tasted and rated | The food filter
Our resident taster dipped, spread and dolloped his way through 10 chutneys in time for Christmas, so you don’t get in a pickle choosing one for yourself The fair price for 14 everyday items, from cleaning spray to olive oilThe Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.Chutney is a heritage recipe that’s been largely unchanged for a century, and some of the best versions are the simplest and most traditional. That said, even when it’s made on an industrial scale, chutney usually features just fruit, sugar, vinegar and perhaps some pectin
It’s not all about roasting on an open fire – there’s so much more you can do with chestnuts
If I’d ever spared a thought for how chestnuts – the sweet, edible kind, not the combative horsey sort – were harvested, I would probably have conjured rosy-cheeked peasants bent low in ancient forests and filling rough-hewn hessian sacks by hand. Back-breaking labour, sure, but so picturesque!I was delighted, therefore, while on a writing retreat in Umbria last month, to get the opportunity to watch an elderly couple manoeuvre a giant vacuum around their haphazard orchard, followed by their furious sheepdog. The fallen crop was sucked into a giant fan that spat their bristly jackets back out on to the ground, and the nuts then went to be sorted by other family members on a conveyor belt in the barn – the good ones to be sold in the shell, the less perfect specimens swiftly dropped into a bucket for processing.Later in the week, a lorry turned up in the village square to pick up bags from other small local producers, and that evening I roasted a pan of chestnuts on the fire with new appreciation, while loudly bemoaning the disappearance from the streets of London of the chestnut sellers of my childhood (though this makes me sound positively Dickensian, I can confirm that I’m talking about this century. Note also that Nigel Slater is less starry-eyed on the subject
Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for apple, brown butter and oat loaf | The sweet spot
I adore a good loaf cake. There’s something about them that’s just inherently cosy and wholesome, and this one in particular is perfect for the colder months, not least because it’s simple and sturdy in the very best way. It’d be right at home with a coffee for breakfast, as well as gently warmed in a pan with butter and served with hot custard on a rainy evening. A real all-rounder.Prep 5 min Cook 1 hr 25 min Serves 8180g unsalted butter 200g light muscovado sugar 2 large eggs 50g soured cream 210g plain flour ½ tsp cinnamon 40g porridge oats, plus extra to finish1½ tsp baking powder ¼ tsp salt 2 eating apples 2 tbsp demerara sugarHeat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin
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Think autumn, think Piedmont – wine from ‘the foot of the mountain’
By the time this column comes out, it will be Big Coat weather, so those collars will be getting higher and the scarves thicker. And, when there’s a chill in the air, I like to eat food than leans towards smoky and earthy flavours: charred vegetables, stews, sausages and mushroom everything.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more
‘I’m now a one-issue voter’: US shoppers fear Italian pasta tariff will cause shortage
On Monday night, Kelly planned to make dinner and spend the night inside with her family. Instead, she told her husband to put the kids to bed so she could get in the car, drive to Wegmans and “panic buy” $100 worth of Rummo pasta.Kelly, a 42-year-old product manager who lives outside Philadelphia, has celiac disease, which means that eating gluten triggers an immune response that leads to digestive issues. She saw fellow gluten-free people on Reddit and TikTok freaking out over the fact that the US is mulling a 107% tariff on Italian pasta imports. According to the Wall Street Journal, the hike could lead to those companies withdrawing from the US market as early as January
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