Nurses respond to today’s budget

Published: 24 March 2010

For immediate release: Wednesday 24th March 2010

Speaking following today’s budget, Janet Davies Executive Director of Nursing & Service Delivery at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warned against possible future ‘slash and burn’ approaches to the NHS. Janet Davies said:

On NHS funding:
“There has been significant investment in the NHS over the last decade, but we are concerned that the need to create massive efficiency savings could lead to a short term slash and burn approach across the service in the future. This budget confirms the sheer scale of the financial challenges ahead for the NHS, and the need to secure savings of £15 to 20 billion by 2013/2014. Delivering this will involve all parts of the health service working together, and nothing should come ahead of the need to secure the highest quality of care for patients in the long-term.

“With people living for longer and ambitions to deliver more care in the community nurses will have a key role in helping people manage their conditions and in reducing unnecessary hospital admissions. Experience shows us that short term cuts compromise patient care and result in a loss of skilled staff and valued services, and both can be difficult to restore. Whoever wins the general election must maintain investment if they are to prevent the NHS from taking a backwards step.”
On increasing the duty on alcohol:

“The decision to increase duty on strong cider by 10% above the rate of inflation will be welcomed by nurses, many of whom deal with the effects of excessive drinking on a daily basis. The RCN is calling for a mandatory code on alcohol, which would include minimum pricing and tighter regulations on labelling, sales and advertising.”

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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/newsevents/media

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, healthcare assistants 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.