Helen Whyley, Director of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Wales, has written to the First Minister calling for immediate action in three key areas to protect patients and secure the future of nursing in Wales.
The RCN first urges Vaughan Gething to deliver on promises in the Welsh government’s 2023/24 pay offer – prioritising patient safety by ensuring there are enough nursing staff to deliver safe and effective care. Second, the organisation warns him to responsibly introduce registered nursing associates to Wales. The letter ends by asking him to strategically invest in the education of nurses at all career stages, to meet future health care demands.
Promises in the 2023/24 pay offer included action on patients being cared for in inappropriate places (so-called “corridor care”), better access to flexible working, a 36-hour week, and more.
Helen Whyley said:
“Now is the time for the First Minister to refresh his public commitment to safe and effective care. That would go a long way towards assuring nursing staff that his government will address the extreme pressures they are under.
“What’s critical is that the First Minister keeps nurses nursing in the NHS. That’s why he must make sure the Welsh government keeps every promise it made to our members last year to end industrial action. Those important promises could make a real difference to nurses and to their patients. That’s why our members accepted them in good faith – but half a year later, they have yet to feel a difference.
“New nursing roles are fantastic, but patients need to understand what that means for them – and, crucially, they need to be funded properly. Any risk to patient safety from registered nurses being inappropriately replaced is completely unacceptable. And this can’t become a distraction from getting the basics right, either. A national strategy for commissioning nursing education, all the way from student to advanced and consultant level, would be a fitting ambition for a new First Minister with a commitment to improving health.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world with over half a million members in the UK, including around 29,500 members in Wales. The RCN promotes the interests of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies, and voluntary organisations.
For more information, contact the RCN Wales press office at 02920 680 769 or email mediawales@rcn.org.uk
