Royal College of Nursing welcomes new Health Secretary

Published: 04 September 2012

For immediate release: Tuesday 4 September 2012

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) today commented on the Cabinet reshuffle and said that it looked forward to working with incoming Secretary of State Rt. Hon Jeremy Hunt MP.

Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the RCN, said:

“In challenging times for the health service, the RCN has not seen eye to eye with Andrew Lansley on the government’s health reforms. However, we have welcomed the continuous dialogue between Mr Lansley and RCN members during his time as Health Spokesman and as Secretary of State.

“The RCN will now be looking to work with incoming Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt, to ensure that the nursing voice is heard. There are profound challenges facing health in the UK, such as the need to save £20 billion from across the NHS in England, staff being asked to do more with less, waiting lists lengthening and waiting times rising, threats to public health, the delivery of social care to an aging population, and the demands of shifting care from hospitals into the community and an unnecessary shift to regional pay. We wish Mr Hunt well as he faces these considerable challenges and wish to meet with him soon to set out the concerns of the nursing profession.”

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 organisations.