Investment in NHS must be sustained, warns Royal College of Nursing

Published: 28 August 2007

Progress in reducing waiting times, improving patient care and delivering reforms in the NHS will be placed in jeopardy unless the government makes a commitment to sustain investment at levels above the rate of economic growth, says the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). The warning comes as part of the RCN's submission to the Treasury Select Committee inquiry into the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

General Secretary of the RCN, Dr Peter Carter, said:

"The increases in health spending as a share of national income over recent years have enabled much progress to be achieved. But, the UK still faces a wide range of healthcare challenges in the years ahead, from deficits to reform and from long-term care to nurse recruitment and retention.

“The RCN believes it is absolutely crucial that we meet the future challenges and maintain the recent progress by providing the necessary resources. The RCN is urging the government to use the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 as the ideal opportunity, and the fiscal mechanism, to make explicit their future financial commitment to the NHS."

In its evidence, the RCN highlights four priority areas:

  • NHS Funding – sustain the levels of investment needed to ensure that outputs and outcomes continue to improve over the period covered by the CSR 07.
  • NHS Deficits – develop a long-term recovery plan for trusts in deficit; establish a sustainability fund; safeguard education and training budgets; and fund a guaranteed one year employment and preceptor-ship in the NHS for students.
  • Healthcare Reform – implement a transition plan for delivering care closer to home; prioritise investment in long-term care; fund pilot programmes and develop fully-costed implementation and roll-out plans for all new policies; provide the necessary resources to enable the government to properly consult and fully involve all stakeholders in the reform process; ensure continued financial support for nurse led services and nurse driven innovations.
  • Nursing Workforce – the CSR 07 should be used to improve nursing recruitment & retention levels, tackle the nursing retirement challenge and deliver a fair pay settlement for nurses.

The RCN'ssubmission to the Treasury Select Committee inquiry into the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review can be found at: www.rcn.org.uk

Notes to editors

For further information, interviews or illustrations please contact the RCN Media Office on 0207 647 3633, press.office@rcn.org.uk or visit http://www.rcn.org.uk/news/mediacentre.php

RoyalCollege of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world.  The RCN promotes the interest 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.