Responding to the Health and Social Care Secretary's speech at the Conservative Party Conference, Royal College of Nursing Chief Nurse, Professor Nicola Ranger, said:
“The Health Secretary should not play politics and court controversy at the expense of people’s health and good care, including plans that can actively deter trans individuals from accessing services.
“The single factor that has the greatest impact on the quality of your care and your experience as a patient is the number of staff on duty. But things are heading in the wrong direction, despite an ambitious plan, and today’s speech did not address the nurse vacancy issue head-on.
“Record numbers of unfilled nurse jobs are detrimental to good care – one nurse can be left looking after 10, 15 or even more patients. These kinds of ratios are unsafe and require urgent action from government. The number of students starting nurse courses in recent weeks has fallen again and too many experienced nurses are considering leaving intolerable workplaces.”
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