Tackling nursing crisis crucial to achieving Prime Minister’s plan, says Royal College of Nursing

Responding to the Prime Minister's ‘Plan for Change' speech, Executive Director of RCN England, Patricia Marquis, said:   

“To achieve his plan, the Prime Minister needs to join the dots between hitting NHS targets and solving the crisis in nursing. We deliver the vast majority of care, but our workforce is severely depleted and recruitment is collapsing. This impacts every service, including non-urgent, the very issue he wants to address. A plan for change needs a plan to turn our profession around.   

“Today, patients are struggling to access care in their communities and are lining corridors in hospitals, unable to get a bed. Ending the operation waiting list backlog for patients is vital, but there are other key metrics for success, and this cannot result in resources being diverted from services that keep people healthy and off waiting lists in the first place. 

“For patients to feel that the NHS is improving over the next five years, the government must prioritise fixing the crisis in nursing. A fairly paid and safely staffed nursing workforce would transform care and positively impact the lives of millions.”