Our work to fix the nursing workforce crisis
In England
How was your last shift?
Nursing staffing levels impact patient safety. We can’t improve one without improving the other.
Tell us about the staffing on your last shift and help us build an accurate picture of how things are now, so we can fight for change.
Staffing for safe and effective care in England
This means that essential care can be left undone - patients wait for longer for treatment and vital services remain undelivered. When a setting is short staffed, those delivering care have no option but to carry on or to leave the profession. Our members and their colleagues do their best every day, working above and beyond. But even in a profession they love, the ongoing pressure is unsustainable.
Supporting our members to deliver safe and effective care is one of the RCN's major priorities, and we're working hard to find different ways to influence the changes the profession needs.
As part of the Staffing for Safe and Effective Care campaign, the RCN is demanding that the government properly invests in nursing education, base workforce assessments on need and make them public, and put accountability in law for the provision of staffing for health and care services in England.
Internationally recruited nurses make a vital contribution to the workforce in the UK. The RCN is clear that any international recruitment must be ethical and not undermine health systems in other countries, and only take place when international recruitment is required to complement the domestic workforce. This should not be instead of appropriate investment in education and training of domestic staff.
Where appropriate international recruitment is required, it must adhere to UK and global Codes of Practice that guide effective and ethical recruitment. We want a fair, effective and inclusive UK immigration system with appropriate testing and registration process to ensure fair and clear routes for appropriately trained international nurses to join the UK nursing workforce.
There must also be government accountability for the provision of health and care staff written into law in England. This means that the Secretary of State must be accountable, through a legal duty, and that there must also be a legal duty to produce a demand-led workforce strategy based on population need, to ensure there are enough nursing staff now and in the future.
> The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to undertake and publish a detailed assessment and analysis of future workforce demand and supply requirements for all health and care services across England
> An expansion in the number of nursing students and full financial support including abolition of self-funded tuition fees, and grants that reflect the real cost of living. A lack of financial support for students on nursing degrees has resulted in a worrying decline in the number of people applying to study nursing in England.
The RCN also expects employers and the government to retain the current nursing workforce, through improved pay, terms and conditions. Find out more about our Fair Pay For Nursing campaign.
It's vital that nursing staff in all settings are able to work safely and with the confidence that they are supported to deliver the right care to those accessing services.
The RCN's Nursing Workforce Standards are the first national blueprint for tackling the nursing staff shortage levels across the UK. They set the standard for excellent patient care and nursing support in all settings, and all UK countries.
Developed by the RCN's Professional Nursing Committee, the Nursing Workforce Standards suggest a roadmap for designing a workforce in both the NHS and the wider health and social care sector that can offer patients the quality of care they deserve.
This is vital as health services begin to return to normal as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
Nursing is the largest safety critical profession in healthcare and it is vital that the right staff, with the right skills are in the right place, at the right time.
You may have concerns about issues that will impact patient care or safety.
If you are worried, you can raise concerns in the first instance with your manager or employer using the model letter we have developed. Do refer to the Nursing Workforce Standards which set out the standards we expect all employers to meet, to support the delivery of excellent patient care and nursing support in all settings.
You can be reassured you are doing the right thing in raising your concerns, and the RCN will support you to take things further if needed.
We have also written a model raising concerns letter for nursing support workers. Other resources you may find useful are available here.
