RCN staff shortage petition results in Parliamentary debate
Nursing staff shortages in England will be the subject of a Parliamentary debate, thanks to the campaigning efforts by members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
At 9.30am on Tuesday (3 March), MPs will debate the RCN’s call on Government to keep its promises to tackle recruitment and retention to the nursing profession. The session will be led by Mohammad Yasin MP for Bedford.
This comes after the delivery of petitions as part of the RCN’s Safe and Effective Care campaign, which garnered more than 220,000 signatures from healthcare staff, patients and members of the public, calling on the Government to make tackling the shortages one of its highest priority.
Last year, the number of nursing vacancies in England reached its highest ever recorded level and the RCN’s campaign in England calls for a law to ensure accountability in Government and across the system for the health and care staff needed to provide safe and effective care.
Mike Adams, RCN Director for England, said:
“Tackling the nursing shortage has to remain the highest priority for our Government and there must be a legal responsibility to ensure there are enough nurses now and for the future to give safe and effective care to all patients.
“We hope that this debate will result in the issue being discussed further by Parliament and the Government, ultimately resulting in legislation to prevent this staffing crisis from recurring.
“Nursing staff make up the largest part of the workforce across the health and care services, but our profession is facing shortages that have reached alarming levels.”
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