Nurses respond to Health White Paper

Published: 15 July 2010

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) today (12 July) responded to the publication of Equity & Excellence: Liberating the NHS – the Health White Paper. Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said:

"Today’s white paper details the government’s ambitious plans for the NHS. Nurses will welcome the focus on quality and the move to put patients in the driving seat, however, these radical reforms will not be without risk.

“We welcome the commitment to include nurses alongside GPs in making decisions about local health services and look forward to seeing more detail about how this will be achieved in practice.  However, in economically challenging times there will be some difficult discussions with patients about their care and what is affordable which has the potential to change the relationship patients have with nurses and doctors.

“In these tough economic times, it is more important than ever that public money is spent wisely. A robust system will be essential to ensure those holding the purse-strings, as well as managers and politicians, are fully accountable and that every penny is spent with good patient care in mind.”

“We will be reviewing the document in further detail and look forward to working with the government to help shape a health service with good quality patient care at its heart."

-Ends-

Notes to editors

For further information, interviews or illustrations please contact the RCN Press Office on 02076473633. 

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. 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.