Responding to the latest NHS England waiting list figures, Patricia Marquis, Executive Director of RCN England, said:
“Waiting lists are up and there will be no place to hide for the next government when it comes to bringing them down. Excuses, vague promises and unambitious levels of investment will not get patients the care they need. Politicians with their eyes on Number 10 need to wake up to that fact.
“Nursing staff deliver the vast majority of care in the health service but there are tens of thousands of empty posts. There is no hope of reducing waiting lists without action to boost recruitment and improve retention. That must include delivering a substantial, above inflation pay rise in the first 100 days of the new government.”
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