The Emergency Department Safer Nursing Care Tool is now available to use in NHS emergency departments in England. Developed by the Shelford Group chief nurses, licenced by Imperial College London and supported by the NHS England Chief Nursing Officer, the Emergency Department Safer Nursing Care Tool (ED SNCT) calculates nurse staffing requirements for emergency departments based on patients’ needs (acuity and dependency). Together with professional judgement, the tool supports emergency department managers and chief nurses in their safe staffing decisions.
This tool makes an innovative and valuable contribution by providing the following:
- Establishment set by Annual Attendance as well as Acuity and Dependency
- Care Hours to Contact metrics on the current and recommended establishments
- A Deployment arm showing the hourly staffing requirement aligned to the acuity & dependency.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tool has been further developed to consider the implications of COVID-19 on staffing. From major trauma centres to district general hospitals with emergency departments, the tool offers nurses a reliable method when used in conjunction with professional judgement to deliver evidence-based workforce plans to support existing emergency department services as well as emerging services. Developed in partnership with a range of NHS organisations and types of emergency departments, it is suitable for determining nurse staffing requirements in all emergency departments including both adult and children’s and young people’s settings.
The ED SNCT is one of a suite of SNCT tools which are widely used across the NHS, private sector and internationally. The tools include adult in-patient wards in acute hospitals, acute medical units, children and young people’s wards and mental health settings. The SNCT for adult inpatients in acute hospitals is endorsed by NICE and supported by NHS Improvement and NHS England.
The Clinical Workforce team at NHS England and Improvement provide training in the implementation and practical application of the tools in individual trusts to ensure they are consistently applied across the NHS. In February 2019 a ‘CNO Safe Staffing fellowship programme’ was launched to develop the capability and capacity of NHS staff to develop and update the tools to make sure they are sustainable.
The Safer Nursing Care Tools (SNCT), including the Mental Health Optimal Staffing Tool (MHOST), are free to use by NHS trusts in England and can be licensed via Imperial College London NHS Technology here: https://www.innovahealthtec.com/emergency-department-snct. This tool will enable NHS Trusts to comply with ‘Developing workforce safeguards’ (NHSI, 2018) by using an evidence based tool to determine their staffing establishments for their Emergency Departments.
Ruth May, NHS Chief Nursing Officer for England, said:
“Safe staffing remains high on my agenda and emergency departments are no exception. This innovative yet simple to use tool is designed to help chief nursing officers and emergency department managers make evidence-based decisions on safe nursing levels to support patients’ needs. It will not only help to improve outcomes for patients attending emergency departments, it will also help to improve the working environment for emergency department staff.”
Janice Sigsworth, Chief Nurse at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Chair of the Safer Nursing Care Tool steering committee, said:
“Having the right level of nursing staff is fundamental for safe and high-quality patient care, as well as creating a positive and supportive working environment. The Safer Nursing Care Tools are already transforming the way that NHS trusts plan their nursing workforce needs and I have no doubt that the Emergency Department Safer Nursing Care Tool will be a fantastic support to emergency departments in their safe staffing decisions.”
Notes to editors
- The Safer Nursing Care Tools (SNCT), including the ED SNCT, can be downloaded via Imperial College London NHS Technology here: innovahealthtec.com
- The SNCT are licensed via Imperial College London on behalf of the Shelford Group. Licensing enquiries should be directed via nhsinfo@imperial.ac.uk. Training requirements should be directed to Ann Casey anncasey@nhs.net. All other enquiries should be directed to info@shelfordgroup.org.
- Non-NHS organisations and those operating outside of England should contact Imperial College London direct regarding licensing via nhsinfo@imperial.ac.uk
- The Shelford Group is a collaboration between ten of the largest teaching and research NHS hospital trusts in England. Together these ten NHS trusts account for over £11bn of the NHS budget, treat over 15 million patients a year, employ over 140,000 staff and account for two thirds of the country’s clinical research infrastructure. Formed in 2011, the Shelford Group works with national leaders to inform life science, health and social care policy – connecting policy makers with the frontline NHS. For further information, visit shelfordgroup.org or contact info@shelfordgroup.org or 020 7340 1159
- Footnotes
- House of Commons Library: NHS Key Statistics, May 2019