New Health Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister Thérèse Coffey will set out her plans to improve NHS and social care in England in parliament today (22 September).
She’s expected to announce a package of measures to improve access to general practice appointments, including recruiting extra support staff to relieve pressure on GPs.
She’s also likely to call on members of the public to volunteer to support the health and care system and expand the role of pharmacists so they can manage and supply more medicines. The crucial role of nursing staff, however, is notably absent from plans so far released.
RCN General Secretary & Chief Executive Pat Cullen said: "Nursing staff provide the majority of patient care and we're concerned that, when it comes to making care safer, this announcement appears to be lacking.
“There is a staffing crisis in an overloaded system and it is putting patients at risk. Another callout for volunteers will look panicked and ill-considered.
“The Health Secretary’s plan is also at odds with recent research that found the best way to improve patient satisfaction with GP care is to train up nurses you already have, such as in diabetes prevention.
“Yet, the basic issue, which these plans do not address, is that we don’t have enough nursing staff. This is a key driver behind our strike ballot which now opens on 6 October.”
Many years of underfunding have brought nursing shortages to crisis point, with record numbers of unfilled nurse posts and 25,000 people leaving the profession in the last year alone.
The RCN believes urgent investment is needed, including fair pay and more funding for nursing student tuition fees, to boost the domestic nursing workforce.
“Paying nursing staff fairly is a simple way to recruit and retain more of them,” Pat added.
