RCN responds to Liberal Democrat and Green Party health pledges
Responding to pledges on health and care by the Liberal Democrats today, Donna Kinnair, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said:
“It’s good news that the Liberal Democrats have recognised that the removal of the bursary in England for nursing students in 2016 has badly affected numbers applying to become nurses. However, we need this financial help to be restored for nursing students across the board, rather than just those in specialist areas such as mental health. Without this, and comprehensive measures to retain nurses who are already working, political parties are only promising to fill a leaky bucket.
“It is encouraging to see investment pledged for social care by the Liberal Democrats, together with an acknowledgement that it cannot be divorced from the NHS – we hope to see other parties follow suit and include similar commitments in their own manifestos”.
Commenting on the Green Party’s manifesto launch, Dame Donna said:
“The Greens are the first party in this election to recognise the need for a clear legal duty for the Health Secretary to ensure there are enough health and care staff to meet the needs of the population. The RCN is clear that legislation is the first step to ensure this in every country in the UK - other parties now need to make this commitment too.
“It is also encouraging to see that the Greens would reinvest £1 billion a year in financial support for nursing students, following the removal of the nursing bursary in England in 2016. Comprehensive investment like this is the only way to begin to close the gap on the record number of nursing vacancies, which currently stands at 43,000 in the NHS in England alone.
“The promise to provide free social care at home to everyone over 65 would help patients return from hospital more quickly, and would also help to prevent admissions to hospital in the first place.
“With our health and care system facing a crisis in nurse recruitment and retention, it is vital that all political parties commit to and, if elected, deliver policies that can give the service the nurse numbers it needs to deliver care to patients”.
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