Responding to the Nuffield Trust report on waiting times in community health services RCN Head of Nursing, Carli Whittaker, said:
“This report highlights the devastating consequences of the ongoing failure to invest in community nursing, with workforce numbers nowhere near enough to meet demand. Since 2009, the number of school nurses and health visitors alone have collapsed by a third, pushing waiting lists up and leaving children and young people without access to care. It is unacceptable that a generation has been let down and now faces the prospect of long-term ill-health throughout their lives.
“If ministers are serious about prevention and moving more care away from hospitals, the upcoming workforce plan must deliver significant and urgent investment in community nursing. Only new and sustained investment can ensure there are enough expert community nurses embedded in every community, and that children and young people get the care they need.”
Ends
Notes to editors
Nuffield Trust - How will waiting times in community health services affect the shift towards neighbourhood health?
