Nurses welcome dawn of a new era for social care

Published: 30 March 2010

Welcoming the publication of the Government White Paper, Building a National Care Service, Janet Davies, Executive Director of Nursing & Service Delivery at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said:

“Today marks the dawn of a new era for social care. Nurses play an integral role in care and will welcome the government’s ambitious vision to establish a fairer, simpler system to replace the unacceptable and confusing care “lottery”. However, the need for social care reform has never been more urgent - delaying the introduction of the new system until 2016 will be too late for many people.

“Nurses have told us that they would prefer a comprehensive model of funding - the only option where everybody would pay collectively for social care, sharing the risk equally and fairly.

“The success of today’s proposals will depend on investment in the community nursing workforce which will deliver a high quality social care service when reform takes place. Greater investment in preventative health measures is also needed to help people stay independent for as long as possible.

“Political parties must now work together to develop a care service which is fair and fit for purpose for generations to come.”

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Notes to Editors

For further information please contact the RCN Press Office on 0207 647 3633 or press.office@rcn.org.uk

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.