Since my last blog, the UK has a new prime minister and a new health secretary, and we have taken the opportunity to tell them that nursing needs to be at the top of their agenda.
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’re 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.
It’s vital that any plan for the country shows that our profession is valued as a key pillar of national infrastructure. You can read more about our priorities for the new UK government here.
One welcome area of focus has been social care, and the prime minister has shown that he understands the urgent need for reform in England. He is also right to place keen emphasis on 'person-centred care'. A sustainable system and a new model with registered nurse-led care at its core will be transformative in delivering high-quality, person-centred treatment and support, while reducing the pressure on the NHS.
It's also refreshing to hear a prime minister so directly address poor pay in social care, which remains one of the biggest barriers to recruiting and retaining skilled staff. The goal now must be making social care an employer of choice, on a par with the NHS, with people able to move between services without risking a cut in their pay.
The forthcoming Fair Pay Agreement, England’s first statutory sector-wide collective agreement for adult social care workers, is a golden opportunity for the new government to signal its intentions for staff in the sector and to turn the corner on low wages and poor terms and conditions, including unacceptable levels of exploitation of migrant staff.
Today we have released a report exposing the scale of grotesque exploitation taking place in the social care sectors across the UK. Employers are using the precarious visa position of migrant staff as leverage to demand huge repayments, underpay, re-write contracts to alter their pay and conditions, as well as fail to address dangerous substandard working practices.
For years, our members have bravely spoken out and sought support against these appalling practices. The prime minister has spoken movingly about the contribution of migrant nursing staff, now they need his full backing.
The prime minister’s vision for a service delivering high-quality person-centred care must also include decisive action to end the exploitation of staff in the sector. A change to immigration rules is crucial to stabilising the sector by ending the control of employers over visa sponsorship, stopping them from using immigration status as leverage.
Last week we saw some significant progress in protecting the title of nurse, following years of campaigning by RCN members and nursing leaders. Now the UK government is calling for evidence on the list of professions and roles that should be permitted to describe themselves as nurses, as it moves towards making it a criminal offence for unqualified people to use the title.
It's right that the government has committed to this after our members campaigned tirelessly to secure this for nursing. Nursing is a highly skilled, safety-critical profession and it’s essential to patient safety that our title is protected. We look forward to further progress following the Westminster government’s announcement in 2025 that the job title "nurse" would be given protection in law to ensure only those with the right education and registration can use it.
This year's RCN Annual General Meeting will take place on 8 September at RCN HQ in London and online. The AGM is an opportunity to come together with fellow members and find out the latest on how the RCN is performing against its long-term strategic and financial targets. You’ll receive an update on preparations for our next organisational strategy and have the opportunity to share your perspectives on the priorities that matter most to nursing staff and the profession. Advance booking to attend in person will open soon, and details about how to join online can be found here.
I'm also pleased that voting for your RCN President and Council representatives is now open. All members will receive a vote for President and a vote for their relevant representative on RCN Council, where their Council seat is up for election. Please use this chance to vote so that you have your say in shaping how decisions are made in the College. You can find more information, including who has put themselves forward for election on our website.
And finally, I would like to offer my congratulations to our New Chair and Vice Chair of RCN Congress. Mental health nurse Clare Manley is our new Chair of Congress, and supporting Clare, Dawn Marr, who is also a registered mental health nurse, is the new Vice Chair. RCN Congress is the pinnacle of the RCN’s event calendar with thousands of nursing staff from across the UK gathering to debate, learn, and network. The next RCN Congress takes place in Liverpool from 24 to 28 May 2027 so look out for updates on how you can book your place or propose a debate. I look forward to seeing you there.
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’re 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.
It’s vital that any plan for the country shows that our profession is valued as a key pillar of national infrastructure. You can read more about our priorities for the new UK government here.
One welcome area of focus has been social care, and the prime minister has shown that he understands the urgent need for reform in England. He is also right to place keen emphasis on 'person-centred care'. A sustainable system and a new model with registered nurse-led care at its core will be transformative in delivering high-quality, person-centred treatment and support, while reducing the pressure on the NHS.
It's also refreshing to hear a prime minister so directly address poor pay in social care, which remains one of the biggest barriers to recruiting and retaining skilled staff. The goal now must be making social care an employer of choice, on a par with the NHS, with people able to move between services without risking a cut in their pay.
The forthcoming Fair Pay Agreement, England’s first statutory sector-wide collective agreement for adult social care workers, is a golden opportunity for the new government to signal its intentions for staff in the sector and to turn the corner on low wages and poor terms and conditions, including unacceptable levels of exploitation of migrant staff.
Today we have released a report exposing the scale of grotesque exploitation taking place in the social care sectors across the UK. Employers are using the precarious visa position of migrant staff as leverage to demand huge repayments, underpay, re-write contracts to alter their pay and conditions, as well as fail to address dangerous substandard working practices.
For years, our members have bravely spoken out and sought support against these appalling practices. The prime minister has spoken movingly about the contribution of migrant nursing staff, now they need his full backing.
The prime minister’s vision for a service delivering high-quality person-centred care must also include decisive action to end the exploitation of staff in the sector. A change to immigration rules is crucial to stabilising the sector by ending the control of employers over visa sponsorship, stopping them from using immigration status as leverage.
Last week we saw some significant progress in protecting the title of nurse, following years of campaigning by RCN members and nursing leaders. Now the UK government is calling for evidence on the list of professions and roles that should be permitted to describe themselves as nurses, as it moves towards making it a criminal offence for unqualified people to use the title.
It's right that the government has committed to this after our members campaigned tirelessly to secure this for nursing. Nursing is a highly skilled, safety-critical profession and it’s essential to patient safety that our title is protected. We look forward to further progress following the Westminster government’s announcement in 2025 that the job title "nurse" would be given protection in law to ensure only those with the right education and registration can use it.
This year's RCN Annual General Meeting will take place on 8 September at RCN HQ in London and online. The AGM is an opportunity to come together with fellow members and find out the latest on how the RCN is performing against its long-term strategic and financial targets. You’ll receive an update on preparations for our next organisational strategy and have the opportunity to share your perspectives on the priorities that matter most to nursing staff and the profession. Advance booking to attend in person will open soon, and details about how to join online can be found here.
I'm also pleased that voting for your RCN President and Council representatives is now open. All members will receive a vote for President and a vote for their relevant representative on RCN Council, where their Council seat is up for election. Please use this chance to vote so that you have your say in shaping how decisions are made in the College. You can find more information, including who has put themselves forward for election on our website.
And finally, I would like to offer my congratulations to our New Chair and Vice Chair of RCN Congress. Mental health nurse Clare Manley is our new Chair of Congress, and supporting Clare, Dawn Marr, who is also a registered mental health nurse, is the new Vice Chair. RCN Congress is the pinnacle of the RCN’s event calendar with thousands of nursing staff from across the UK gathering to debate, learn, and network. The next RCN Congress takes place in Liverpool from 24 to 28 May 2027 so look out for updates on how you can book your place or propose a debate. I look forward to seeing you there.
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