Responding to the Skills for Care ‘State of the Adult Social Care Workforce’ report, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said:
“The Prime Minister’s vision for a national care service is the right one but this report is a stark reminder of the huge workforce challenges the sector faces. Another small increase in the number of registered nurses working in social care is a step in the right direction, but shockingly high turnover means we are losing expert nurses almost as fast as we are recruiting them. With nurse numbers still way behind what they were a decade ago, a fully funded plan to improve recruitment and retention is desperately needed.
“Failing to get to grip of workforce issues in social care also impacts our NHS. Thousands of people are stuck in hospital beds every week who are fit enough to leave but cannot because of a lack of capacity to support them at home or in the community. Investment in social care nursing staff isn’t just the right thing to do to allow people to live more independently, it can save the government and the NHS money in the long run too.
"As the population ages and conditions become more complex, it’s clear that an effective national care service the care will need to be registered nurse led. But that vision needs a plan to stop highly skilled nurses leaving the sector and to attract the social care nurses of the future. For all staff, the coming negotiations on a fair pay agreement must come with the enough funding to improve wages and workplace rights for everyone delivering care in the sector.”
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Notes to editors
Skills for Care - The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England
