RCN: the NHS must adapt

Published: 31 January 2013

The NHS needs to adapt to the demands of increasingly complex health care needs while maintaining its core principles, the Royal College of Nursing has said.

The comments were made in response to a King’s Fund’s report into future health and social care spending.

RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary Dr Peter Carter said it is important that increasingly scarce funds are not diverted from the frontline into major reorganisations.

“Nursing staff are integral to supporting patients with long-term conditions and carrying out preventative work in communities. Removing these vital skills and services now is only going to cause greater problems, and higher costs, in the future,” he said.

The RCN hopes the report will encourage a longer-term approach to workforce planning to ensure the right number of staff and sufficient resources are available to deal effectively with patients’ needs.

The King’s Fund’s report highlighted that health and social care could account for half of all government spending in 50 years and called for a debate around what services should be paid for with public money.