RCN responds to King's Fund report on transforming health and social care

Published: 06 September 2012

Under embargo: 00:01 Thursday 6 September 2012

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) today responded to Transforming the delivery of health and social care: the case for fundamental change, published by the King's Fund.

Tom Sandford, Director of RCN England, said:
"This report is a significant and welcome addition to the overwhelming body of evidence in favour of bold redesign in the way patient care is delivered. The RCN has been saying for some years that if health services are to meet the demands they face, the focus needs to shift to preventing ill health, managing patients with long term conditions and avoiding expensive hospital admissions. The challenges faced by the NHS in delivering the care of the future are considerable: people are living longer and we still face public health challenges such as obesity, alcohol and smoking. At the same time, the NHS is tasked with saving £20 billion in England alone.

"Nurses are at the forefront of developing new and innovative ways of working and we know that the public welcome being cared for closer to home. However, an RCN survey earlier this year showed that nursing staff in the community are facing cutbacks and rising workloads at the very time we need more investment not less. We would urge NHS managers, commissioners and the new Secretary of State for Health to heed this considerable body of evidence, listen to clinical staff, and to instigate intelligent changes to services. They must recognise that there are better ways of saving money in the long term than simple service or staff cuts."

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Notes for Editors

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
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 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.