A SHORTFALL in registered nurses is the biggest risk to maintaining mandatory safe staffing levels on Gwent's hospital wards, a report reveals.

Appropriate levels of nursing staff for Gwent hospital wards which come under the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016 are being provided.

But, says an Aneurin Bevan University Health Board report, there are almost 310 whole time equivalent (wte) registered nurse vacancies across its services, more than 170 of which relate to wards covered by the Act.

The overall vacancy rate is almost nine per cent or slightly above one in every 11 wte posts. But acting director of nursing Martine Price told board members the health board is "not an outlier" for nursing vacancies.

"The challenge for health boards across Wales is that there is more of a tendency for vacancies in acute services," she said.

The Welsh Government recently carried out the latest nurse-targeted launch in its ongoing Train, Work, Live campaign, to attract more nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals to train, work and live in Wales.

On a Gwent level, the health board is involved in several initiatives aimed at bringing more

nursing staff

into the area.

These include local and national advertising of posts, a focus on advertising in the Bristol and Hereford areas, and attendance at major recruiting events in Bristol and Cardiff.

Wales-trained student nurses are also encouraged to select - in one application - four posts from those advertised by health boards, to streamline the process, and maximise applications for posts in Wales. Ninety-five newly trained staff have been matched with posts in Gwent this year under this process.

There are schemes to support healthcare support workers to train as nurses, to recruit and help overseas nurses secure UK registration, and to back nurses returning to the profession.

In Gwent hospitals, safe staffing rules apply to 29 wards (15 acute medical, 14 acute surgical). Staff numbers and skill mix are regularly monitored - and adjustments made when necessary - to ensure compliance.

Safe levels should be maintained shift by shift and long term, and should comprise permanent staff, though - also not exclusive to Gwent - temporary staff are used to cover vacancies, sickness and other issues.