The Senedd election in May 2026 comes at a critical time for health and social care in Wales, and we’ve been doing all we can to shape the parties' manifestos.
With around 2,000 RCN members in each Senedd constituency, it's a crucial time for nursing staff to engage with politicians and use their vote constructively. Who you vote for will influence how health care will be delivered and how the nursing profession is prioritised over the next four years.
"It doesn't take long to vote, and in this election, more than any other, every vote may count,” says Nicola Williams, Executive Director of RCN Wales. “We need to ensure that politicians hear the voice of nursing staff strongly. Please vote for the party that you think will protect the population, patient safety and the nursing profession in Wales."
The RCN is not affiliated with any political party. We work with politicians across all parties to champion nursing and patient safety to create positive change, and help influence government policies that benefit nursing staff and the health of the nation. In the run-up to this election, we’re calling on all political parties to prioritise nursing and safe patient care as a cornerstone of their campaigns.
We developed our manifesto, Stronger Nursing, Stronger Nation, following a member survey to ensure our priorities are rooted in the experiences of frontline nursing staff. In it, we’ve set out detailed, evidence-based recommendations that we expect the next Welsh government to commit to, not in some distant future, but from day one.
- End corridor care.
- Protect patient safety.
- Nursing care at the heart of the community.
- Wales needs nurses.
Within the first 50 days, members of the Senedd must make a clear commitment and take urgent steps to protect nursing and safeguard patient care.
Within six months, they must deliver meaningful change.
And within four years, we expect a reformed and resilient health and care system that respects both the workforce and the people it serves. Anything less is a risk Wales and the nursing profession cannot afford.
Read on to find out more about our expectations, the changes being introduced at this election and how to find out what the political parties are pledging.
Our four election priorities
1. End corridor care
Corridor care refers to looking after patients in spaces not designed for treatment, where safe care isn’t possible. This isn’t just in corridors, but also storage areas, waiting rooms, offices, car parks, even toilets. We know that health boards are using these spaces to cope with rising pressure on emergency departments.
Corridor care is unacceptable and has sadly become widespread and entrenched in NHS Wales, presenting a serious risk to patients' lives and considerable concern for nursing staff.
Patients are being put at risk. We expect the next Welsh Government to:
- collect and publish monthly corridor care data, broken down by health board
- commission and publish national reviews of NHS Wales’s capacity, with policy recommendations
- make it a “never event” for patients to receive care in chairs for more than 24 hours
- increase the number of senior clinical decision-makers in A&E departments 24/7
- commission more education places for district nurses and nurses with a community nursing Master’s degree
- increase the number of full-time equivalent district nurses and nurses with a community nursing Master’s degree employed by the NHS.
Within the first 50 days, we expect the next Welsh government to:
- commit to publishing monthly corridor care data, broken down by health board
- pause the reduction in NHS Wales hospital beds and commission national reviews to examine A&E and hospital bed capacity at different levels of patient dependency
- commit to making it a “never event” for patients to receive care in chairs for more than 24 hours.
Find out more about our campaigning work on corridor care and read Corridor care: timeline of a crisis.
2. Protect patient safety
If nursing staff don't have the right skills or clinical supervision, or are simply not given enough time to care, this can result in a range of negative outcomes for patients.
We're asking the Welsh government to take action to ensure that service providers, including the NHS, are held to the highest possible standards. This includes:
- protecting patients by extending Section 25B of the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016 to community nursing and mental health inpatient settings
- legislating to regulate nursing agencies
- amending the duty of quality so that health boards are required to fully consider workforce supply and safe staffing in their statutory Quality Statements.
- putting Health Inspectorate Wales on an independent statutory footing with a clear methodology of inspection set out in law.
Within the first 50 days, we expect the next Welsh government to:
- implement protected time for continuous professional development for registered nurses in NHS Wales equivalent to the contract of doctors. This must be in addition to mandatory training.
3. Nursing care at the heart of the community
Community nursing is essential for the successful integration of health and social care, and needs strategic leadership and investment.
The limited and short-term nature of funding for residential nursing care for older people in Wales is a national crisis. People are being admitted to hospital unnecessarily and we need to see innovative action by the new Welsh government including:
- a dedicated seat on each Regional Partnership Board for a senior nurse
- access to commissioned postgraduate education, including specialist practitioner qualifications, for nurses working in independent health and social care
- access to commissioned education pathways to registered nurse careers for support staff in independent health and social care.
Within the first 50 days, we expect the next Welsh government to:
- launch a consultation on reforming the continuing health care assessment – to remove artificial and discriminatory distinctions between health and social care need
- launch a consultation on ways to reform the funding of residential nursing care.
4. Wales needs nurses
Without enough nursing staff with the right level of skill and experience, health and social care services become ineffective and unsafe. To provide specialist care we also need to develop specialist nurses.
A new Welsh government should prioritise making NHS Wales a place where the best nursing staff from Wales, the UK and abroad are attracted, retained and rewarded. We want:
- a 36-hour working week for NHS Wales nursing staff
- a better outcome in relation to pay, reduction in the working week and other terms and conditions
- a national strategy for postgraduate nursing education in Wales
- a guaranteed job available for newly registered nurses who have studied in Wales and want to work in Wales
- progression from band 5 to 6 for registered nurses, following a formal preceptorship period
- an optimal number of consultant nurse posts in each specialty to meet patient need
- the offer of a non-means tested NHS bursary
- an increase in education provision for nursing in the Welsh language.
Within the first 50 days, we expect the next Welsh Government to:
- demonstrate that flexible working requests are approved as a default for NHS Wales staff
- ensure nursing students can recover the full costs associated with accessing placements.
Read more about our longer-term expectations of the new government meeting all four priorities, within six months of election and by 2030.
New constituencies and voting system
Electoral boundaries have changed in Wales resulting in new constituencies for this election. There were previously 40 constituencies and five regions. These have been replaced by 16 new constituencies, all with new names.
Every constituency in Wales will now elect six Members of the Senedd. That’s why each political party is putting forward a list of candidates rather than just one.
Instead of choosing a person, voters in Wales will pick the party list they want to support. The only candidates people can vote for directly are independents – those standing without a political party.
When the votes are counted, seats are allocated to parties based on the share of the vote they received. This is why the order of candidates on the list is important: if a party wins just one seat, the first candidate on their list is elected. If they win three seats, the top three candidates get in.
This is sometimes called a closed proportional list system. Ballot papers will show the full list of candidates for each party, so people still know exactly who they are voting for.
What else is changing in this election?
- The Senedd will have 96 members instead of 60.
- Anyone standing for election must live in Wales.
- Going forward, Senedd elections will happen every four years.
Visit the Senedd Cymru website to find out more.
Party pledges – see what politicians are saying and hold them to account at the ballot box
As voters in Wales will be choosing a party or independent candidate rather than an individual, it’s important to understand their priorities and pledges regarding health care and other key issues. Here’s what six major parties are saying, in alphabetical order.
Further information
- The Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales has created a useful website with information on the forthcoming election.
- Read more about section 25B of the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016, the duty of quality, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, nursing agencies, Regional Partnership Boards, primary care and public health in the RCN Wales manifesto briefings.
- Read more about RCN Wales.
