RCN responds to the Liberal Democrats' manifesto
Responding to publication of the Liberal Democrats' manifesto today, Dame Donna Kinnair, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said:
“It’s good news that the Liberal Democrats want to end the scandal of children and adults being treated in mental health in-patient units long distances from their homes and families. But this proposal is unlikely to succeed without more staff to make it work – the number of mental health nurses has dropped by almost 4,000 since 2010.
“We are also pleased that the Lib Dems have recognised that the removal of the bursary for nursing students in 2016 has badly affected numbers wanting to become nurses, with 30 per cent fewer applications to nursing degree courses since then. However, the financial help they propose won't work unless it's restored for nursing students across the board, rather than just those in specialist areas such as mental health as the party is planning. Without this, and comprehensive measures to retain nurses who are already working, political parties are only promising to fill a leaky bucket.
“The Lib Dems have promised to revive the draft NHS Bill introduced before Parliament was dissolved. We want this legislation to be used to provide clear legal duties for Government and NHS leaders to ensure there are enough health and care staff to meet the needs of the population, and plan staffing for safe and effective services.
“The national workforce strategy proposed by the party will not succeed unless these legal duties, and financial help for all nursing students, are contained in it”.
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