In response to a Health Foundation report projecting 2.5 million more people in England will be living with major illness by 2040, RCN Director for England, Patricia Marquis, said:
“This report should act as a wake-up call to a government that has failed to plan properly, and left health and care services without the funding desperately needed. With over 40,000 nursing vacancies in England’s NHS alone, the NHS is already in crisis and is in no way prepared.
“Nursing staff play a vital role caring for people with long-term conditions as well as preventing them from happening in the first place – but none of this can happen without investment in a workforce that has seen its numbers fall. A recent Royal College of Nursing assessment revealed that the number of community and district nurses fell by over 40% over 13 years.
“One way to reduce the workforce crisis, and help ensure patients get the care they need, is by awarding a fair pay rise for nursing - otherwise we’ll see nurses continue to leave in their droves.”
Ends
Notes to editors
NHS Digital statistics for England show:
In September 2009 there were 7,055 district nurses compared to 3,749 in December 2022. This is a decrease of 46.9%.
