RCN comment on Jeremy Hunt speech

Published: 10 October 2012

The Royal College of Nursing today commented on Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s speech to the Conservative Party Conference. RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary, Dr Peter Carter, said:

“We welcome the Health Secretary’s focus on older people’s care and his recognition of the tireless work that nurses and doctors carry out every day in the NHS. We also agree that there are significant challenges in the care of older people that need to be addressed. As a nation, we are living longer, but not necessarily healthier lives. We look forward to meeting with the Health Secretary to discuss these challenges.

“However, we believe that safe staffing levels are the key to providing high quality patient care. Nurses working in older people’s care have repeatedly told us that they are unable to do their job effectively because of pressures caused by short staffing. Delivering safe nursing care to this group of patients, who often have hugely complex needs, demands both skill and time. Our evidence shows that currently one nurse cares for around nine patients on older people’s wards, compared to four patients per nurse on children’s wards.

“More widely, we know that more than 60,000 posts are set to go across the NHS. These short term measures to cut jobs and services are only going to make the task of delivering the care that patients deserve even more difficult.”
 
 
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Notes for Editors
 
1.     For further information, please contact the RCN Media Office on 020 7647 3633, press.office@rcn.org.uk or visit  http://www.rcn.org.uk/newsevents/media
 
2.     The 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 nursing staff 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.