RCN backs drive for quality healthcare

Published: 17 September 2009

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) today (17 September) welcomed the emphasis
on quality care, patient and staff satisfaction given in Secretary of State for Health's speech to the King's Fund, but warned that this could be undermined by Trusts adopting a slash and burn approach now to future funding constraints.

Dr Peter Carter, head of the RCN, said:

"We welcome the Secretary of State's focus on delivering quality through increased patient and staff satisfaction, however the scale of the challenge to deliver £15-20 billion of savings over the next spending round should not be underestimated.

"Quality care and efficiency savings are not mutually exclusive. However, history shows us that when funding is constrained, hospital Trusts will try to pull up the drawbridge. Some Trusts are already under pressure to review their funding and to look at future staffing levels. We cannot be clearer, adopting a slash and burn approach now will have a negative impact on patient care.

"While the overall message from today's speech was positive, it was short on some specifics. In the absence of increased funding, rather than just pass the buck to frontline staff to deliver innovative services, they must be supported to deliver the Secretary of State's commitments.

"The RCN supports the notion of making hospital payments dependent on patient experience. The challenge now is to make clear the percentage of the tariff paid to hospitals that will actually be based on quality.

"Too often in the past NHS changes have been hampered by politicians worried about the effect of service redesign on their votes. We welcome the Secretary of State's commitment to have a better level of discourse about service changes."

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Notes for 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 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.