RCN response to review of emergency services in England

Published: 18 January 2013

The Royal College of Nursing today (18 January) responded to the announcement of a review into emergency services in England. Royal College of Nursing Chief Executive & General Secretary, Dr Peter Carter, said:

“The RCN welcomes the move to simplify the system of urgent and emergency care in order to ensure patients receive the highest quality of care. We would also welcome a tiered system for specialist and emergency care, involving an increased use of walk-in centres and out of hours primary care services. Many of the problems currently being experienced in urgent and emergency care are caused by an increased demand and a reduction in the number of beds in the acute sector. This is set to become a growing challenge for the health service over the coming decades.

“While we support the move to provide more care at home and away from hospitals, there needs to be a sustained investment in community services, which is not currently happening. We would also urge the Government to focus on ensuring there are adequate numbers of health care staff to deliver the best possible patient care. We look forward to working with the NHS Commissioning Board on the review and helping to shape health care services for the future.”

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 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 organizations.