Responding the appointment of Andy Burnham as the UK government's new Prime Minister, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said:
"The new Prime Minister has pledged to do things differently and that will resonate with nursing staff up and down the country. Our profession is the largest workforce in health and care, central to the health and wellbeing of every community. But the reality is whether in hospitals or the community, we are depleted and underinvested in. Delivering good growth in every postcode requires good health in every postcode and that means wasting no time in tackling the nursing workforce crisis. His plan for the country must show that our profession is valued as a key pillar of national infrastructure.
"Nursing staff want the new Prime Minister to get on with fixing social care. It's so wrong that in 2026, people are still unable to secure the timely, high-quality care they need. It's crucial the incoming administration recognises the link between social care and NHS performance. Corridors in hospitals lined with the elderly and vulnerable who shouldn’t be there is the clearest sign of a failing social care system.
"As he enters Downing Street, he should do so knowing that if he backs nursing staff, they will back him. By upending the tired Westminster consensus which sees nursing pay as a cost, rather than an investment, he can make the profession more attractive and keep more brilliant staff in post. Turning round declining nursing pay couldn't be more important to kickstarting NHS performance, building a workforce that can shift care into people's communities and growing an economy with a fit and healthy population."
