NURSES in Scotland say they are working in dangerously understaffed departments and feel under pressure to discharge patients before it is safe to “free up” beds.

A survey by the Royal College of Nursing Scotland found that members are being left in tears because they feel unable to cope, with nearly two thirds saying they do not have enough time to provide the level of care they would like to patients.

The poll of nearly 2000 nurses in Scotland found that 52 per cent are working beyond their contractual hours on every shift or at least several times a week.

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More than a third (37%) said they had experienced workplace bullying and 69% said they had been verbally abused by patients or their relatives.

Theresa Fyffe, RCN Scotland director, said: “Across both acute and community settings, there are simply too few nursing staff and working in such a depleted workforce is like having an arm and a leg tied behind your back.

“Nursing staff really need the long-anticipated Integrated Workforce Plan to match Scottish Government’s stated aspirations for the health and care workforce, but it’s now more than 12 months overdue.”

It comes as the latest workforce statistics show that the vacancy rate for nursing and midwifery in Scotland is the highest in more than a decade, at 6.3%.

More than 4000 posts are unfilled, with the rate having climbed steadily since 2010.

One respondent, who works on an NHS hospital ward, said: “The staffing levels are at times unsafe – we have from time to time patients with special needs, that is, they need supervision of one-to-one nursing.

"We often do not have the correct number of staff to do this.”

A nurse based in an acute unit said the NHS is being “pushed to breaking point”.

They added: “The demands made by management including line managers to move patients from one area to the next to free up admission beds is unrealistic and could be dangerous.”

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Another acute nurse described the anxiety of making mistakes due to staff shortages.

“I often come into shifts finding other nurses crying because they cannot cope with the pressure,” they said. “Although I do my best to not let my emotions get the better of me, I regularly go home and cry about what has happened during the day.

“I cannot remember the last time I left a shift and felt like I had done a good job and not worry about missing something.”

Stress and frustration also extended to nurses working in general practice and care homes.

One nurse, based in a GP surgery, said having their salary set by GP partners had resulted in low pay.

They said: “Our pay needs addressed. We receive no increments and rely on the GPs to decide if we get a pay rise. Funding is not put in place for our pay. Hospital nurses are now paid better. Nurses are paid differently in each general practice.”

A staff nurse in an independent care home said the stress of looking after residents with dementia required “constant patience and kindness”, adding: “It takes huge strength to keep showing this when you are constantly under huge stress and pressure from low staffing levels and lack of support from management.”

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Ms Fyffe added: “At its best, nursing gives people a sense of identity, pride, achievement and huge fulfilment – almost three quarters of respondents view nursing as a rewarding career.

"But it’s clear that nurses and health care support workers are feeling overworked in under-resourced environments.”

Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Monica Lennon MSP said: “Scotland’s NHS is facing a workforce crisis due to the incompetency and complacency of successive SNP Health Ministers who have failed to plan for the future.”

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “We value the dedication of our hard-working nurses and we take their welfare very seriously.

“The number of nurses in Scotland is 45% higher per head than it is in NHS England with qualified nurses and midwives in Scotland having increased by 2020.

“Earlier this year, we passed our new safe staffing legislation which will help ensure that our health boards have the right number of staff in the right place. It is the only comprehensive safe staffing law anywhere in the UK.

“For nurse training, we protected free nursing tuition and have not only kept their bursary, but we are increasing it to £10,000 from next year while, the UK Government have scrapped free tuition and bursaries for nursing students in England.

“Our integrated workforce plan will be published in the near future, and will build on the three workforce plans for the NHS, primary care and social care that have already been published.”

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “We value the dedication of our hard-working nurses and we take their welfare very seriously.

“The number of nurses in Scotland is 45% higher per head than it is in NHS England with qualified nurses and midwives in Scotland having increased by 2020.

“Earlier this year, we passed our new safe staffing legislation which will help ensure that our health boards have the right number of staff in the right place. It is the only comprehensive safe staffing law anywhere in the UK.

“For nurse training, we protected free nursing tuition and have not only kept their bursary, but we are increasing it to £10,000 from next year while, the UK Government have scrapped free tuition and bursaries for nursing students in England.

“Our integrated workforce plan will be published in the near future, and will build on the three workforce plans for the NHS, primary care and social care that have already been published.”