UNISON launches mobile app to allow nurses to raise concerns

Public sector trade union UNISON has launched a mobile app to allow nurses to highlight concerns they have about patient care in Scotland’s hospitals.

The free Duty of Care app will operate on mobile phones or tablets and allow nurses to register concerns about staffing levels, equipment and patients whose care is left undone.

A complaint is immediately filed with UNISON and the local health board’s director of nursing.

Nurses are required to raise concerns when they feel patient safety is compromised under the Nursing and Midwifery Council code, but UNISON claims staff are losing confidence with the current NHS electronic reporting system Datix.

While Duty of Care is not designed to replace Datix, it will reassure members both the director of nursing and the trade union will see the report quickly, UNISON’s nursing and midwifery chair Gordon McKay said.

“In a recent survey, 86 per cent of UNISON nurses told us they had left care undone, while 63 per cent said there were not enough staff on shift to deliver safe and compassionate care,” he said.

UNISON will be seeking regular meetings with health boards to discuss concerns raised by members via the app, the trade union said.