MATRONS and senior nurses have been taking on frontline roles to help plug staffing gaps at hospitals in Carlisle and Whitehaven.

The Cumberland Infirmary and West Cumberland Hospital have long been struggling to recruit enough nursing staff.

Problems have worsened since the Government clamped down on the use of agency nurses as hospitals look to balance their books.

As a result, North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust removed all of its agency staff back in December last year.

It has since been looking to boost permanent staffing, filling gaps using bank staff – a pool of its own nurses available to work extra shifts.

Longer term, the trust is looking to take on a number of newly-qualified nurses when the university year ends.

But in the meantime, bosses are asking matrons and specialist nurses to work clinical shifts to keep staffing levels safe.

Healthcare assistant numbers have also been upped to support qualified nursing staff across both hospitals.

A report to last week’s trust board meeting said: “Following the removal of agency nurses on December 21, 2015, nurse staffing has been significantly challenging across both sites.”

It adds that a request to reintroduce agency nurses was declined.

Anna Stabler, deputy director of nursing, told the board that there was unlikely to be a significant increase in qualified nurses coming in to the trust until current nursing students graduate.

She added: We are constantly out to advert.”

Non-executive director George Liston said he was concerned about the impact on supervision if matrons were working as regular nurses.

But chief executive Stephen Eames believes it is a positive move. 


Stephen Eames “I think it’s a really good thing that senior nursing leaders are working operationally as part of their working week. In my experience staff respond well to that. Obviously there is a balance, so it doesn’t affect other parts of their work.

“I expect it to continue on an ongoing basis, more so between now and September while we are bridging a gap.”

The report said that matrons were working between 7.5 and 37.5 hours per week clinically, the latter at West Cumberland Hospital.

Nursing staff have also been redeployed from other areas – such as theatre and intensive care – where workload has allowed.

The board also heard that staff sickness trends are being analysed as some wards have much higher levels than others.