Responding to the announcement on the public health grant allocations for 25/26 RCN Executive Director for England Patricia Marquis said:

“The increase in the public health grant is a step in the right direction for the government’s ambitions to shift towards prevention but short-term funding will not cover for years of cuts, nor help rescue the public health nursing workforce, which has been decimated over the last decade. The reason thousands of patients are crammed into A&E and stuck in hospital today can be traced back to a failure to invest in public health nursing and prevention.

“Nursing is at the heart of improving public health and preventing illness. We must see targeted investment to grow and strengthen nursing roles, including health visitors and school nurses. These are key to keeping people healthy in their communities, shifting from a reliance on treatment to prevention, and easing pressure on our NHS.”

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