RCN response to Health Select Committee report on training, education and workforce planning
Published: 22 May 2012
Responding to the Health Select Committee’s report on training, education and workforce planning, Royal College of Nursing Chief Executive & General Secretary, Dr Peter Carter, said:
"This report by an esteemed group of MPs echoes many of the concerns raised by the RCN about the future of the NHS workforce. We have been saying for some time that the Government needs to be clearer about how it intends to deliver the right level of training and education to ensure we have a workforce that is able to meet the changing health needs of the population.”
On registration for healthcare assistants, he said:
“The report makes clear that voluntary regulation for healthcare assistants will not be enough in the long run and urges the Government to keep it under review. The RCN has long been calling for mandatory regulation for healthcare assistants as we believe it is vital to patient safety and reducing the current variability in the training they receive.”
On Health Education England and Local Education and Training Boards, he said:
“We have serious concerns that medical education is likely to dominate Health Education England. It is therefore essential that as the largest workforce group in the NHS, the role of nursing is given due consideration as the Government bottoms out the detail of these plans. Equally, we welcome the Committee’s view that matters around accountability and performance management need to made clearer. The RCN believes that an impartial chair, from outside the professions, could go some way to alleviate these concerns.”
Dr Carter concluded by saying that:
“The fear is that in a few years we will be facing a real shortage of nurses. Not only have the number of nurse training places significantly decreased, the RCN’s latest Frontline First report also shows that over 60,000 NHS posts are set to go. Again, the focus on the medical profession does not take into consideration the ‘boom and bust’ cycles that we have witnessed in the nursing workforce. The Government needs to make sure we have robust measures in place to avoid this scenario and pay heed to the Committee’s recommendation that the NHS as a whole should aim to be more self sufficient.”
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 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.