“Are you going to sort out the nursing crisis? Because without it, you’ll fail,” RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger told MPs, when asked for her message to health secretary Wes Streeting. “There is no NHS without its staff… Every nurse counts in the UK, we don’t want to lose that expertise.”

Nicola appeared in Parliament in front of the Health and Social Care Select Committee (HSCSC) to talk about the vital role of nursing in the future of the NHS. She told MPs that the abolition of NHS England (NHSE) must mean more government accountability for the state of the health service, and that reforms must draw on the expertise of nursing staff, prioritising them and patients. She also warned that the massive reorganisation cannot result in the loss of nursing expertise at a national level.

She gave evidence to the cross-party group in Westminster alongside Dr Jeanette Dickson, Chair of Council at the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, and Professor Phillip Banfield, Council Chair at the British Medical Association.

The HSCSC – which scrutinises the work of the Department of Health and Social Care – asked Nicola and the other panel members about NHSE abolishment, the risks and opportunities that the reorganisation could bring, as well as workforce and training issues.

Responding to questions about the scrapping of NHSE, Nicola told MPs that it is right for the secretary of state to be “bringing accountability back up to government.” She said: “The NHS is in a really difficult place, both for staff and patients. That level of accountability to improve what is a really challenged environment for everyone working in it is key.”

Nicola stressed that any reorganisation must deliver improvements for nursing staff and patients. “We’ve got big issues that require laser focus,” she said. “We did a report earlier this year around corridor care – that’s a symptom of a failing system. What people need is a bit of hope.”

The panel also discussed the importance of recruiting and retaining NHS staff. Nicola highlighted the over-reliance on internationally educated nursing staff and university cuts that have threatened nursing courses across the UK. “We need a real look at what patients actually need, and how do we recruit and retain brilliant clinicians,” Nicola said. “There’s an opportunity to do something different.”

Nicola emphasised the expertise of nursing staff and advised MPs that they should be consulted to help lead improvements in the NHS. Nursing staff know where their time is best spent, she said: “It’s a good time to take a step back and say, what’s good governance and what’s bureaucracy?”

Health secretary Wes Streeting will appear before the HSCSC on 8 April, when we expect him to answer many of the questions and issues raised by Nicola and the panel.