Responding to The King’s Fund report ‘Making care closer home a reality’, Royal College of Nursing Director for England, Patricia Marquis, said:
“The NHS, its patients, and staff experience a drag towards the hospital. That model does not always deliver appropriate, necessary, or safe care and this report clearly demonstrates the level of aspiration required.
“Care closer to home or in the home itself is both revolutionary and realistic. However, it requires a workforce investment that we are not currently witnessing. District nurses carry an unsafe and unreasonable caseload of patients and struggle to spend respectful or even safe amounts of time with people who need to see them. In the last 15 years, there has been active disinvestment in this area and the number of district nurses has fallen by almost half since 2009 whilst demand for services keeps rising.
“Primary care staff, including those who work in public health and prevention services, need clear incentive to join and stay working in the community as this report shows, and we accept what it says about the need for professional bodies to look at the education requirements for the roles. They must be valued equally with nursing professionals in other sectors and specialties, getting at least the same pay, terms, and conditions as those employed by NHS hospitals. As it stands, almost half of GP nursing staff haven’t received the pay rise the government promised for the current year.
“As we approach the general election, all parties need to show they understand that this solution is not about cutting vital hospital care, but significantly levelling up investment in essential community and primary care services.”
Ends
Notes to editors
The King's Fund report - Making care closer to home a reality
Data from NHS Digital shows the number of district nurses fell by 44% between September 2009 and October 2023, from 7,055 to 3,932. The number of health visitors fell by 30% in the same period from 8,100 to 5,671.
