RCN President speaks out on nursing care

Published: 08 February 2013

Following the publication of the report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry, RCN President Andrea Spyropoulos, has issued a message to RCN members:

“Nurses throughout the NHS will feel devastated at the picture of poor and unsafe care that took place at Mid Staffordshire, much of which was revisited with the publication of the inquiry report. What commentators often forget is that no one is more saddened or frustrated by stories of poor care than nursing staff themselves.

The inquiry report rightly stresses that the culture and leadership of an organisation has a huge impact on its ability to deliver high quality, compassionate care. At Mid Staffordshire, the board was focused on financial concerns at the expense of patients and completely failed to listen to patients, their relatives and staff. The target-driven culture was immensely damaging.

I know that some of you, working under great pressure and with an increasing workload, will be worried that a scandal like that at Mid Staffs could happen in your hospital or care home. I know from speaking to RCN members each week that you are being stretched in all directions and asked to do much more with much less.

I hope that hundreds of thousands of you are confident in the fact that you are delivering remarkable care and have a huge amount to be proud of.

Whatever the picture in your own ward or care setting, nurses want to be part of the solution, not seen as the problem.

As Robert Francis said, nurses are at the heart of patient-centred care. Investing in nurses is a big part of the solution. We need nurses in the right numbers, with the right training and skills, and nurses who know that when you raise concerns, you will be heard and action will be taken. The RCN will be with you every step of the way"