Press Releases
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02/07/2024
Press Release
Critical nursing shortages leave patients unsafe
Due to severe workforce shortages in hospitals and community services, patients are experiencing pain and, in many cases, being cared for in corridors. Today, the Royal College of Nursing in Wales (RCN) revealed this alarming situation, highlighting that less than a quarter of all shifts in Wales have sufficient registered nurses.
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01/07/2024
Press Release
Patients dying alone as just one third of shifts have enough nurses, analysis shows
RCN Acting General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “In every health and care setting, nursing staff are fighting a losing battle to keep patients safe. Without safety-critical limits on the maximum number of patients they can care for, nurses are being made responsible for dozens at a time, often with complex needs. It is dangerous to patients and demoralising for nursing staff.
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24/06/2024
Press Release
‘Tantamount to torture’ - Royal College of Nursing responds to Channel 4’s Dispatches undercover A&E footage
RCN Acting General Secretary and Chief Executive, Professor Nicola Ranger, said: “The footage in Dispatches should shock us all, but sadly it has become commonplace across NHS hospitals. Patients can wait for days in corridors and chairs – this is tantamount to torture and a national emergency for patient safety."
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21/06/2024
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing responds to Nuffield Trust’s analysis showing a decade of missed NHS waiting time targets
Executive Director for RCN England, Patricia Marquis, said: “A decade of missed targets isn’t just a numbers game – behind every single statistic are anxious patients, desperate to be seen. An honest conversation needs to be had with the public at this general election about what is truly needed to solve the crisis in our health and care system."
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19/06/2024
Press Release
Productivity cannot be boosted without investment in staff – Royal College of Nursing responds to NHS Providers’ ‘Achieving value for money’ report
RCN Acting General Secretary and Chief Executive, Professor Nicola Ranger, said: “This report highlights just how hard NHS staff are working to deliver for patients, but also the terrible levels of burnout they face. It is right to celebrate the innovation taking place in our health service, but we cannot lose sight of staff shortages, which are the fundamental problem holding service productivity back."
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17/06/2024
Press Release
RCN responds to a Joseph Rowntree Foundation report on the impact of hardship on primary and community healthcare
Patricia Marquis, Executive Director of RCN England, said: “Every day, nursing staff see the connection between hardship and health. Social deprivation has a devastating impact on people’s physical and mental health and is well understood to be behind rates of increased mortality amongst children. As poverty worsens, so too do pressures on an already under-resourced health and care system.
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14/06/2024
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing comments on the King’s Birthday Honours
RCN President Sheilabye Sobrany said: “It takes a remarkable person to work in nursing and all of those honoured today should be proud of their achievement and the way they represent the very best of nursing."
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13/06/2024
Press Release
‘No place to hide for new government' – Royal College of Nursing responds to rise in NHS England waiting list figures
Patricia Marquis, Executive Director of RCN England, said: “Waiting lists are up and there will be no place to hide for the next government when it comes to bringing them down. Excuses, vague promises and unambitious levels of investment will not get patients the care they need."
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13/06/2024
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing responds to the Labour Party’s 2024 General Election manifesto
Acting RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Professor Nicola Ranger, said: “The millions on waiting lists must be a priority for the next government and an expansion of appointments is desperately needed. Nurses provide the majority of patient care and turning the service around urgently requires more of them."
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12/06/2024
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing responds to launch of the Green Party manifesto
RCN Acting General Secretary and Chief Executive, Professor Nicola Ranger, said: “Pledges to boost the pay of NHS workers are positive, but the money in these plans doesn’t appear sufficient to deliver the substantial above inflation pay rise nursing staff need. There is also no specific promise to restore nursing pay like there is for junior doctors."
Page last updated - 21/02/2025
