Across the UK, health and social care is operating under unprecedented and unsustainable pressure. Workforce shortages, rising patient acuity and chronic under‑resourcing mean that the idealised model of person‑centred care, based on expectations the current system cannot safely meet, is no longer achievable.

This widening gap between expectation and reality is causing significant harm. When the system cannot deliver what policy rhetoric continues to promise, it is nurses who absorb the frustration, complaints and blame. This dynamic is unsafe, unfair and unsustainable across all settings and all four countries.

A realistic model of person‑centred care is urgently required to protect both patients and staff. Such a model must acknowledge that care cannot be shaped solely around individual preference; it must be grounded in clinical judgement, safety, and the resources required. Person‑centred care does not diminish compassion — it strengthens it by ensuring that expectations are honest, achievable and aligned with what UK health and social care can safely deliver.

We are asking that this meeting of RCN Congress calls on RCN Council to urgently develop and implement a UK‑wide framework for realistic person‑centred care, ensuring that nursing practice is safe and ethical.

Further reading

Care Quality Commission (2025) Regulation 9: Person-centred care. Available at: cqc.org.uk/guidance-regulation/providers/regulations-service-providers-and-managers/health-social-care-act/regulation-9 (Accessed 26 March 2026).

NHS Education for Scotland (2025) Person centred care. Available at: nes.scot.nhs.uk/our-work/person-centred-care/ (Accessed 26 March 2026).

NHS England (no date) Person-centred care. Available at: hee.nhs.uk/our-work/person-centred-care (Accessed 26 March 2026).

Skills for Health (2025) Person-Centre Care: What it means and why it matters. Available at: skillsforhealth.org.uk/article/person-centred-care-meaning-implications/ (Accessed 26 March 2026).