Responding to the Prime Minister's speech at the Conservative Party Conference, Royal College of Nursing Chief Nurse, Professor Nicola Ranger, said:
“The Prime Minister’s plans for the NHS are at risk of being derailed by the nurse shortage he is still not addressing.
“After giving nurses the worst pay deal in the public sector, they will also be questioning tonight why they are being left out of the bonus scheme now being offered to others too. Nurses need to become a priority for government investment if the Prime Minister hopes to turnaround the record number of unfilled nurse jobs.
“Nursing staff and patients deserve better than missed targets and short-sighted rhetoric. They need action to recruit and retain more staff, so they’re not stretched so thin – caring for 10, 15 or more patients each shift. It’s not safe.”
Ends
