Responding to the mandate and guidance published today, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger, said:

 

“The health secretary says he wants to get ‘back to basics’, but the basic truth is you cannot cut waiting times and transform care without tackling the crisis in nursing. With over 31k vacancies, the NHS desperately needs more nurses. Yet the nursing profession is barely a footnote in these plans despite being central in delivering new streamlined targets.  

 

“The failure to invest in nursing is a key reason why targets are missed and patients line corridors in almost every hospital today. Devastating shortages, especially in the community, mean people are unable to access early treatment and their conditions worsen. Boosting the numbers of district nurses, health visitors and other community nursing staff is how you ease hospital pressures, eradicate corridor care and cut waiting times. Nursing professionals and the public both understand these basics. 

 

“A vision and plan for the NHS must look beyond just asking its already depleted nursing staff to work harder, for 25% less than they made in 2010/11. Increasing productivity means showing staff they are valued by improving their pay. It isn't done by ditching workforce retention objectives and adding unrealistic pressure to improve efficiency. Our members will want to know that significant reductions in agency expenditure will be used to address staffing shortages, not leave them with less support on every shift. 

 

“The upcoming strategy for transforming urgent and emergency care cannot come soon enough and is already too late. It must have teeth, new investment in the workforce and be laser focused on eradicating corridor care."

 

Ends