HOSPITAL bosses are locked in a dispute with staff nurses about plans to cut frontline nurses on a ward for critically ill patients at Bradford Royal Infirmary and replace them with healthcare assistants.

A letter leaked to the Telegraph & Argus and sent by staff nurses on Ward 21 to Bradford Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust's chief executive Professor Clive Kay warns the changes would lead to unsafe care and staff burnout.

The ward is a progressive care unit and deals with post-operation patients with complex needs and those who have come from intensive care units.

In response, the Trust's chief nurse Juliette Greenwood has assured that the changes will still leave the ratio of registered nurses on the ward above recommended levels.

The staff nurses' letter, however, claims while temporary savings would be made by reducing the morning, afternoon and nightshift on the 15-bed unit by one nurse - the overall costs would be higher in the long-term.

And it goes on to say staff nurses' concerns about scenarios that could arise if the changes went ahead were from prior experience when the ward was not fully staffed.

"The prospect of encountering this on a daily basis is frankly scary and will cause a lot of harm to all parties concerned," the letter states.

"We therefore feel that replacing a staff nurse with a care assistant who is limited in what they can do, will be detrimental to patient care and lead to an unsafe workplace for all concerned."

Mrs Greenwood said the nurses' letter had been replied to and the Foundation Trust was committed to safe staffing levels and this year will have committed investment of an additional £725,000 in nursing and midwifery staffing across its adult inpatient wards, totalling about £2.7 million over the past three years.

“Specifically, in relation to ward 21 we are acting upon the results of evidence-based reviews undertaken on this ward which identify that the registered nurse staffing levels remain above the recommendation for a ward such as this," she said.

"I can confirm that the proposed changes do not reduce the overall number of staff per shift. The Trust is committed to ensuring that all reviews are carried out in the best interests of our patients, who are central to everything that we do, and we have a strong record in continually investing in staff to meet the changing needs of our patients.”

But the staff nurses have been praised for raising their concerns by Glenn Turp, regional director for the Royal College of Nursing.

"It is really important when setting safe staffing levels to listen carefully to the experience of current staff, especially in units treating highly dependent patients," he said.

"These nurses are clearly committed to giving the best care they can, and we would hope that their experiences will be listened to and reflected when a final decision is made.

"We applaud the nurses for raising these concerns. There is unequivocal evidence that the higher the skill mix of the nursing team, the better the patient outcomes are.”