Responding to the Skills for Care Workforce Strategy, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Professor Nicola Ranger, said:
“It is not possible to ‘fix’ the NHS without addressing the poor state of social care. People are living longer with increasingly complex care needs, but governments of every colour have been unwilling to grapple with this issue for decades. Today’s ministers cannot afford to take the same approach.
“This strategy highlights the challenges and shows where the new government must develop clear answers. Political accountability is crucial, and we support the calls for legislation to make the secretary of state responsible, at the heart of government, for workforce planning and delivery. We have participated in this work and Skills for Care is right to call for reform of staff pay in the sector, which is much less favourable than that in the NHS.
“Too many care homes or other services run with just a single registered nurse. New official data shows falling domestic recruitment and registered nurse numbers in social care are down 18k since 2012. Securing the future of social care requires the eradication of shocking, exploitative recruitment and employment practices. The sector is unsafe, and a full social care workforce strategy could not be more urgent.
“Recognising the vital contributions of registered nurses, nursing associates and those in other nursing roles is critical to social care’s success. An effective workforce strategy must be fully funded, evidence-led and include specific interventions, modelled, tested, and assessed against the needs of the population. More must be done to outline roles and responsibilities across the sector, including those of local government.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interests of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations.
For more information, contact the RCN press office at 020 7647 3633 or email mediateamhq@rcn.org.uk
