Shaping the NHS 10-year plan
Helping you have your say in the UK government’s consultation
Take part in the UK government's consultation on the 10-year NHS plan
Health care reform is desperately needed – for patients, for service users, for nursing staff like you. Reforms must fix the chronic issues you face day in day out, from unsafe staffing numbers to corridor care.
If you have ideas for how the government could make things better for you and those in your care, this is your chance to raise them directly.
If you’re not sure where to begin, use our priority areas below as a starting point.
What we’re calling for in the government’s 10-year NHS plan
Commit to funding that reflects demand
The government must increase long-term funding, with detailed plans for allocating investment over the 10 years. This must be based on a realistic assessment of what’s needed to meet demand and the government’s ambitions. Significant and targeted investment in preventive, community and primary care is an urgent priority.
Extra investment is needed to allow existing services to continue while new services are developed. At the same time, there must be increased long-term funding settlements for social care and public health. Funding plans must also account for staff salaries and pay rises over the 10 years to end the pattern of day-to-day budgets being used to cover these costs.
Resolve the nursing workforce crisis
A healthy workforce is essential to build an NHS fit for the future. The government’s ambitions for reform will only be possible with enough staff, trained and equipped to deliver safe and effective care. The new plan must set out evidence-backed measures to resolve the nursing workforce crisis and boost growth, recruitment and retention across each sector.
We call on the government to:
Fund tuition fees and living costs
Cover these costs for nursing, midwifery, and allied health care students.
Guarantee funding for nursing education
Ensure enough funding for academic study and high-quality practice placements.
Fund nursing apprenticeships
Support an increase in the number of nursing apprenticeships, without compromising patient care.
Set safety-critical nurse-to-patient ratios
It’s up to the government to set nurse-to-patient ratios for all health and care settings. These must be measured and reported on publicly. The new plan should provide the conditions for ratios to be applied.
Give greater legal protection for staff who raise concerns
If a member of nursing staff raises concerns about unsafe staffing and they’re not dealt with, they should have extra legal protections if something happens on that shift because of too few staff.
Support staff mental health and wellbeing
All health and social care employers must fund accessible and effective mental health and wellbeing support for their nursing staff. The new plan must allow enough funding for this, and require integrated care systems to deliver this support.
Support Continuing Professional Development
Nursing staff suffer from a lack of funding and protected time for their Continuing Professional Development (CPD). The new plan should fix these issues to help staff across health and social care develop and thrive.
Enforce our Nursing Workforce Standards
The RCN Nursing Workforce Standards should be used by providers and commissioners to ensure that nursing staff are supported to deliver safe and effective care. The new NHS long term plan should enforce these standards:
- Provider organisations must have a registered nurse at executive level within their governance structure. Executive nurses are responsible for the information and advice they provide to the board. (RCN standard 1a). Decisions and accountability relating to the nurse staffing level rests with the corporate board or provider organisations. (RCN standard 1a)
- A registered nurse lead will be supervisory and not rostered as part of the nursing workforce allocation. If there is exception to this, clear rationale must be documented, agreed by the board and highlighted to commissioners / regulators. (RCN 6a)
- Nursing students’ supernumerary status to be protected (RCN 2h)
- Provider organisations should undertake comprehensive workforce planning, including a workforce learning needs analysis, commissioning and provision of training and education. (RCN 7b)
- Each provider organisation should have a board-approved risk management and escalation process in place to enable real-time nurse staffing risk escalation and mitigation with clear and transparent procedure to address severe and recurrent risks. (RCN 1i)
Eradicate corridor care
The new plan must commit to eradicating corridor care and making chair care that exceeds 24 hours a ‘never event’. It must include measures to achieve this, including:
- increased scrutiny and regular reporting of where and how care is given
- safeguards that ensure sufficient provision of staff and equipment to meet demand
- restrictions on the use of non-clinical spaces for the delivery of care
The plan must prioritise improving patient flow, using feedback from nursing staff.
Boost capital investment
The plan must include evidence-backed actions to increase staffed health and care beds and address significant budget gaps and backlogs in maintenance. The government must urgently fix dangerous issues, such as the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) and asbestos in NHS buildings.
Ready to have your say?
Where next?
Our full manifesto
Our full list of priorities are laid out in our manifesto. From improved working conditions to securing better health for all, see what we're calling for.
Fair pay for nursing
It's high time nursing staff were valued for the safety-critical and highly skilled profession they trained for. Join us as we demand pay justice for every nursing professional.
Safe staffing
From ending corridor care to setting safety critical ratios, we won't stop until every workplace is safely staffed. Help us protect nursing staff and the public.
