Responding to the report from Nuffield Trust on district nursing showing 1 in 4 district nurses left the NHS in the last year, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger, said:  

 

“This report shows the value of district nursing to the government’s ambitions, but also how far this workforce has been allowed to fall. Numbers are half what they were over a decade ago, all while demand has risen and is set to continue to rise. 

 

“Under these circumstances, it is little wonder these nursing experts face impossible workloads, with unpaid work the norm and now many choosing to quit altogether. You can draw a straight line through the failure to invest in district nursing and the crisis we see today in hospitals, crammed full of vulnerable people who should not be there. 

 

“District nursing is among the best investments a government can make. They are key to delivering expert interventions to help people live healthier lives in their communities, their visits are vastly cheaper than expensive hospital admission, and they will be absolute vital in the success of the planned neighbourhood health service.   

 

“The government’s focus on shifting care from hospital to community and from sickness to prevention is the right one, but it’s time for a reality check. It cannot be delivered on the backs of a depleted district nursing workforce or by damaging acute care provision at the same time. Ministers have a great chance to bring forward new investment in the forthcoming ten-year workforce plan or risk those very reforms becoming unachievable.”