Press Releases
-
30/11/2023
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing responds to Department of Health and Social Care statement on 50,000 extra nurses in the NHS
Royal College of Nursing Chief Nurse Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Nursing staff will reject government claims that it is ‘mission accomplished’ on nurse recruitment - this political target had no basis in the reality of demands on health care. There are still tens of thousands of nursing vacancies in the NHS."
-
30/11/2023
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing responds to the Nursing and Midwifery Council's mid-year registration data report
Royal College of Nursing Chief Nurse Professor Nicola Ranger said: “The headline findings of this report don’t reflect what nurses are seeing on the NHS frontline. Since 2019, the NHS waiting list has grown four times faster than the nurse workforce, meaning there aren’t enough staff to provide the outstanding care patients deserve."
-
30/11/2023
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing responds to latest NHS England Urgent and Emergency Care Daily Situation Report and NHS Vacancy Statistics
Royal College of Nursing Chief Nurse Professor Nicola Ranger said: “This winter will be just as challenging as last year. Nursing staff are doing all they can to hold together the NHS whilst it is under immense strain."
-
28/11/2023
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing demands new negotiations following NHS consultant pay offer
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said: Nursing is one of the most diverse and female-dominated professions within the public sector, and the injustice of nursing pay is also a gender issue. The greatest pay inequality in the NHS relates to nursing. This must be addressed as a matter of urgency.”
-
27/11/2023
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing responds to consultant pay offer
Royal College of Nursing Chief Nurse Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Nursing staff will be appalled by this announcement and where it leaves them. The government has shown it has the political will to reform pay for some of the highest earners in the NHS - while our members are left with the lowest pay rise in the public sector."
-
24/11/2023
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing warns of growing nursing mental health crisis as data shows doubling in those seeking help for suicidal thoughts
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is warning of a growing mental health crisis amongst nursing staff, as its membership support line data shows a substantial increase in the number of nursing staff seeking help for having suicidal thoughts.
-
22/11/2023
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing responds to the Autumn Statement
Royal College of Nursing Chief Nurse, Professor Nicola Ranger, said: “This statement was short-sighted, not long-term. The NHS faces a multi-billion pound deficit - giving away at least £5 billion in tax cuts in place of health spending confirms the NHS is no longer a priority for the government."
-
16/11/2023
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing responds to the opening of the government’s consultation on agency workers covering for striking workers
Royal College of Nursing Director of Legal and Member Relations, Joanne Galbraith-Marten, said: “Rather than resolving disputes and strikes, the government is choosing to erode people’s freedoms instead. Changing the law is a clear sign they’ve lost the argument."
-
16/11/2023
Press Release
NHS waiting list growing four times faster than the nurse workforce
Royal College of Nursing Director for England, Patricia Marquis, said: “Not a single nurse will say that it feels like there are more staff now – they say the very opposite. When patient numbers and demand is so high, staffing levels become dangerously inadequate. It is unsafe for patients and professionals alike when one nurse cares for 10, 15 or more patients at a time and beds are put in corridors or other inappropriate places."
-
13/11/2023
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing responds to appointment of Victoria Atkins as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Royal College of Nursing Chief Nurse Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Victoria Atkins' first priority must be to get the NHS the extra funding it needs in next week’s autumn statement. The current financial settlement is penalising patients - those on waiting lists are being told to wait even longer in a cash-strapped NHS. She can begin to address that."
Page last updated - 22/03/2024