Join our campaign for safe staffing
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Become a safe staffing champion
We need you to help us make safe staffing a reality. Be vigilant and raise the alarm on unsafe staffing in your workplace, sign up to receive campaign news and opportunities to force change nationwide or tell us how you've been affected by unsafe staffing levels. Together, we can bring safe staffing to every health and social care setting.
How we're fighting for safe staffing
Corridor care
The treatment of patients in inappropriate areas such as corridors is increasingly common. Nothing about 'corridor care' resembles care. We need your help to put an end to this unsafe practice.
Nurse-to-patient ratios
Many nurses are caring for unsafe numbers of patients and facing overwhelming pressure and burnout. It’s critical that the right nursing staff with the right skills are in the right place at the right time.
Workforce standards
Nursing staffing levels impact patient safety. We can’t improve one without improving the other. Our Nursing Workforce Standards are a roadmap for designing a workforce that can offer patients the quality of care they deserve.
Learn what 'safe' should look like in your workplace
Use our resources to equip yourself with the knowledge and tools you need to challenge unsafe staffing practices in your workplace:
- Our workforce standards set out what must happen to ensure safe and effective care
- Our levels of nursing show who should be making decisions about emergency care
- Our Raising Concerns Toolkit covers all the essentials to help you sound the alarm
Calling for safe staffing across the UK
Fighting for safe staffing in England
There's currently no law about nurse staffing in England. When a workplace is under-resourced, staff have no option but to continue or leave the profession. This pressure is unsustainable.
We've had significant victories for safe staffing in Scotland and Wales. Now it's time to make safe staffing a priority in England, too. That's why we're using every means available to influence legislation and win safe staffing in England.
The safe staffing situation in Scotland
In June 2019, the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act became law. It was the first legislation in the UK to set out requirements for safe staffing in health and social care services.
The Act came into force in April 2024. It puts the legal duty on the NHS and the Scottish government to ensure there are enough registered nurses, midwives and medical professionals available to allow employers to ensure safe staffing.
Safe staffing laws in Wales
The Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016 was the first law of its kind in the UK. It defines the appropriate number of nurses for children's wards and adult medical and surgical wards. And it requires health boards to provide enough staff for all patients receive sensitive care.
Welsh RCN members won this change in legislation. We continue to campaign for its extension to all health care settings, particularly mental health inpatient wards, community nursing and care homes.
Safer staffing in Northern Ireland
There’s a severe shortage of nursing staff in Northern Ireland. 1,534 nursing vacancies remain unfilled in the HSC. A similar vacancy rate is estimated in independent and nursing home sectors.
We held strike action in 2019-20 to achieve pay equality and safe staffing. We continue to hold the Department of Health and Northern Ireland Executive to account for the delivery of the Health Minister’s safe staffing framework – particularly, the implementation of safe staffing legislation.
Join our fight for safe staffing
