Nurses are too busy to help patients because 'they are drowning in paperwork'

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Patients are losing out because of shortages of nurses and basic equipment, it was claimed yesterday.

A report found that some are denied help in going to the toilet while others are given intimate examinations behind curtains that won't close properly.

It cited further degrading treatment including the use of mixed-sex wards, toilets and shower rooms.

The Royal College of Nursing, which conducted the study, said ministers had failed to meet their pledge to ensure every patient is treated with dignity.

Instead, nurses are said to be battling with a target-driven culture and swamped by wasteful paperwork.

They typically spend 20 per cent of their day dealing with admin.

Dr Peter Carter, of the RCN, said: "Dignity should not be an after-thought or optional extra.

"Nurses desperately want to give patients the dignified care they deserve but many simply do not have the time and resources to do so."

Of 2,000 nurses polled by the royal college, 81 per cent said they had felt distressed by the degrading treatment they are "forced" to offer.