A poll by the Royal College of Nursing has reported that nurses are “drowning in a sea of paperwork”.
The poll of 6,000 nurses reported that they are occupied with non-essential paperwork for over one-sixth of the working week, with 17.3% of working hours spent on jobs such as photocopying, filing and ordering supplies.
Most of those who took the poll said the amount of paperwork was getting worse and was stopping them from providing direct care to patients.
The Government has announced that it wants to reduce bureaucracy by a third.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has already said there will be a review of bureaucracy and this is currently being carried out by the NHS Confederation, which is due to report back on an outcome in the coming months.
Mike Farrar, NHS Confederation chief executive, said: “We recognise very much the survey and we are concerned about it. I think it’s critical that we make sure our staff have got the maximum amount of time to be with our patients.
The survey also found that over a quarter of nurses said their workplace did not have an administrative assistant or ward clerk to help with clerical duties.
General Secretary of the RCN, Peter Carter said: “These figures prove what a shocking amount of a nurse’s time is being wasted on unnecessary paperwork and bureaucracy.
“Yes, some paperwork is essential and nurses will continue to do this, but patients want their nurses by their bedside, not ticking boxes.”