Every day, nursing staff are forced to care for too many patients by a system that undervalues and underfunds nursing.  

Research shows that this puts patients at risk. More patients die when there are too few nurses. 

That’s why we commissioned the internationally leading Health Workforce and Systems Research Group at the University of Southampton University to conduct independent analysis of existing international research, on the impact of mandatory minimum nurse-to-patient ratios and safe staffing legislation. 

The conclusions drawn are inescapable. If you have concerns about understaffing where you work, get informed and get ready to feed into our campaign.

This is part of our value of safe nurse staffing work.

See our calls for ratios

The replacement of a registered nurse with the nursing support workforce or a member of another health profession is a risk to patient safety.

That’s why we’ve set out our position clearly among health care providers: a registered nurse must never be substituted with any other health care professionals, including nursing support workers.

We’ve developed guidance to help employers avoid this blurring of roles and the consequent safety risks – and help you identify when this is happening where you work.  

This is part of our value of safe nurse staffing work.

See our position

Get the blueprint for safe, effective nursing. 

Our Nursing Workforce Standards set the benchmark for a safe and effective nursing workforce. 

They can be used in all settings, in all UK countries.  

Once you’ve mastered the standards, you can apply to become a Nursing Workforce Champion. Receive tools and checklists to help you identify where issues lie and raise them with management.

This is part of our work lives and wellbeing work.

Go to the standards

Corridor care is bad for patients and bad for health care staff. 

Treating people in inappropriate spaces like car parks and waiting rooms has become increasingly common. It's unsafe, undignified and unacceptable. 

Our work to end corridor care has led to the Health Services Safety Investigations Body launching a formal investigation into its shocking scale and impact. But there's a long way to go before it's outlawed for good.  

If you see corridor care where you work, our guidance can help. We’ve developed resources that help you identify and report corridor care.

This is part of our professional practice work.

Join our campaign

Nursing is the largest safety critical profession in health and social care. But misinformation about nursing can mean our profession is undervalued. Through our work as an academy, we aim to set the record straight by:

• defining what nursing is today
• setting out eight principles that set out what everyone – from nursing staff to patients – can expect from nursing
• setting standards for the different levels of nursing: Assistive, Supportive, Advanced, Enhanced and Consultant

These definitions, principles and standards can help set expectations of nursing among patients, families and staff where you work. They can also help you to identify where high standards of nursing are being met and where things could be improved.

This is part of our professional practice work.

Go to nursing definitions and principles

Our collection of career frameworks can help you navigate and progress your professional journey.  

Each framework, developed or endorsed by leading health care bodies, offers structured guidance and development pathways tailored to various nursing specialisms and career aspirations.  

These resources align with recognised standards, making them invaluable for planning career growth, enhancing competencies and meeting your CPD requirements.

This is part of our professional practice work.

Get ahead with the framework