Press Releases
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09/01/2025
Press Release
‘Nursing staff have never been more worried for patient safety’, says Royal College of Nursing
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said:“ The tragedy is this situation is not new, with these unacceptable conditions now seen all year round. Nursing staff have repeatedly called for investment in social care and community services to ease the pressure on hospitals, but successive governments ignored them."
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06/01/2025
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing responds to the Prime Minister’s plan to end waiting list backlogs
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger, said: “Patients are waiting too long for treatment and modernisation in the NHS is needed. But the missing link in all of this is the nursing workforce. Nursing is crucial to a better future for health and social care, but there are tens of thousands of vacancies across every part of the system and every region in England."
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03/01/2025
Press Release
'Nursing staff know even more challenging conditions are on the horizon’, Royal College of Nursing responds to the latest NHS England winter performance data
RCN Executive Director for England Patricia Marquis said: “Sadly, health and social care services begin the new year as the last one ended, under pressure and under-staffed. The latest figures show soaring numbers of patients with flu being treated in over-stretched hospitals, demonstrating just how fragile the whole system is including community and primary care."
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03/01/2025
Press Release
'Vulnerable people needing care cannot wait until 2028 for change’ - Royal College of Nursing responds to announcement of government commission on adult social care
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger, said: “Social care requires long overdue reform. Although today's announcement is a step in the right direction, the reality is that a commission due to report in three years' time will do little to solve the crisis in the here and now."
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30/12/2024
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing responds to the New Year Honours List 2025
Royal College of Nursing President Sheilabye Sobrany said: “Congratulations to all those in health and care who have been recognised in the New Year Honours. Your work and tireless dedication to nursing and your patients act as an inspiration to all of us."
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23/12/2024
Press Release
‘Learning disability nurse deserts’ developing across England, as RCN calls for government to rescue specialty
RCN Chief Nursing Officer, Lynn Woolsey, said: “Learning disability nursing is an incredibly rewarding career, supporting some of the most vulnerable to live happier and healthier lives. But the specialty has suffered years of neglect and underinvestment, causing recruitment to collapse and decimating workforce numbers."
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22/12/2024
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing responds to the Health Secretary’s comments on corridor care
Executive Director of RCN England Patricia Marquis said “The Heath Secretary is right to recognise the crisis that leaves patients treated in corridors. Being honest about it is the first important step. Nursing staff are genuinely fearful of what’s ahead this winter."
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19/12/2024
Press Release
Growing number of flu cases threatens to overwhelm an NHS and workforce already in crisis, Royal College of Nursing responds to latest winter sit-rep data from NHS England
Executive Director of RCN England Patricia Marquis said: “As people prepare for the festivities, nursing staff are battling to hold the service together and are deeply concerned about what the coming weeks will deliver."
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16/12/2024
Press Release
32,000 nursing students could quit by 2029, as Royal College of Nursing warns losses could fill every NHS vacancy in England
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: "The students of today are the nurses of the future. But for tens of thousands, the unbearable weight of graduate debt, lack of support with living costs and prospect of low pay is set to push them out of the profession before they qualify. This is a tragedy for them and patients."
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16/12/2024
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing responds to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine's new position statement on corridor care
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Care delivered in corridors and other non-clinical spaces is unsafe, undignified and unacceptable. It violates the privacy of patients and leaves staff without access to essential, life-saving equipment. There are no circumstances under which it constitutes good, safe care."
Page last updated - 23/09/2024
