RCN response to Kings Fund’s mid-term assessment of the NHS

Published: 28 November 2012

The Royal College of Nursing today (Wednesday 28) responded to The King’s Fund’s mid-term assessment of the NHS. RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary, Dr Peter Carter, said:

“This report makes a lot of important points about the dangers facing the NHS in the coming years, and supports many of our own warnings. We agree that there is a real risk of financial control being maintained by sacrificing the quality of patient care. There is already evidence that patient care is deteriorating as a result of cuts to staffing levels, and this trend needs to be stopped before it is too late.

“It is also good to see this report underlining the importance of specialist nursing staff in both improving patient care and saving the NHS money in the long term by preventing conditions such as diabetes from leading to emergency hospital admissions. It is a real concern that less than 20 per cent of people with diabetes receive all the recommended treatment standards, and making sure there are enough specialist nurses is an important way to improve this.

“The report also points out that preventative care is important in reducing cost to the NHS, which is something we fully agree with and this is something which nurses are heavily involved with, demonstrating the short term thinking behind cutting nursing posts for financial reasons.

“However, we are disappointed to see that the report hints that there is a straight choice between pay increases and staffing levels. This is not the case when there are far bigger savings to be made elsewhere in the NHS by reducing waste and improving long-term planning.”

Ends

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.