Responding to the Module 1 Report, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger, said:
“Today’s report will make emotional reading for nursing staff across the UK. The thoughts of our profession are with the bereaved, and those continuing to live with the long-term effects of COVID-19.
“The response to the pandemic was deeply flawed, stemming from a failure at the very top of governments to plan, prepare and resource health and care services effectively for a respiratory disease outbreak. A sustained period of austerity widened health inequalities and weakened health service infrastructure, whilst a total failure to invest in the nursing workforce left every care setting chronically understaffed.
“Throughout the pandemic, nursing professionals raised concerns about a lack of appropriate clinical and protective equipment, but our voices were not heard. As the largest single workforce in the NHS, the nursing profession was isolated, hindering our participation in the development of clinical guidance and preparedness planning. Nursing has always been at the forefront of infection prevention expertise but this group think, exemplified in England by the lack of parity between the Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Medical Officer, held back the pandemic response.
“Four years on from the outbreak of the pandemic, this report makes clear that health and care services remain unprepared for future expected health emergencies. The nursing profession is well placed to support the development of new approaches to risk assessments and pandemic planning, but today's ministers in every country of the UK must ensure we are equal partners.
"Nursing staff were left exposed by government’s failure to prepare for the pandemic, which first failed to provide adequate protection against a deadly virus and subsequently left thousands facing the debilitating consequences of long COVID without support. Our profession also bears the mental scars from holding together services in the face of such devastation. This report is a vital reminder that frontline health and care workers deserve nothing less than high-quality, fully funded mental health and wellbeing support from their employer.”
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 emailmediateamhq@rcn.org.uk
