Safe Staffing

Trust boards and leaders are required to have a detailed understanding of the workforce in their organisations. This means having systems and processes in place to provide assurance that the right numbers of staff are in place at the right time.

All trusts must now publish ward level information on whether they are meeting their staffing requirements. Actual versus planned nursing and midwifery staffing will be published every month (in hours) and every six months trust boards will be required to undertake a detailed review of staffing using evidence based tools.

Where concerns are highlighted, trusts will be expected to provide an explanation for their commissioners and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and to work with their commissioners to develop an action plan to address those concerns.

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust works hard to ensure that on every shift the patients in our care will receive the care needed to support their needs. If for any reason we fail to meet those needs we will investigate these and share the findings openly with those raising concerns.

The 2023 Staffing Returns are available below. If you require any further returns, please email headquarters@dchft.nhs.uk