Responding to the latest NHS performance statistics, RCN Director for England, Patricia Marquis, said:
“Waiting lists again at record levels, people waiting hours in A&E for treatment and thousands of patients well enough to go home stuck in hospital beds is not a picture of an NHS in the peak of health.
“Nursing staff are doing everything they can to reduce the backlog in care and give patients the care they need but this is severely hampered by tens of thousands of vacant nursing posts.
“In the budget next week, the Chancellor must take the opportunity to invest in the nursing workforce.
“Not acting now will mean patients will continue to wait longer for care and add even greater pressure to a health and care system that is already struggling to keep up with growing demands.”
Ends
Notes to editors
Latest data from NHS England shows the number of people in England waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen slightly to equal the previous record high.
An estimated 7.21 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of January 2023, up from 7.20 million in December 2022.
It is the joint highest number since records began in August 2007, having previously been reached in October 2022.
