Responding to the announcement from the Health Secretary, Executive Director of RCN England Patricia Marquis said:

“Dismantling years of work takes thought and planning, but the government and NHS England have failed to appreciate the scale of the risk or to plan to mitigate these risks. The government’s reforms need people who are not just clinical experts, but also those who know their way around the health and care systems to ensure patients can access the best possible care.

“Frontline services need more investment, but to do this off the backs of making thousands of experts redundant is a false economy. Expert registered nurses working across NHS England and ICBs don’t just run vital public health programmes and oversee care programmes for the vulnerable – they connect the NHS and social care services with one another. To imply these are administrators shows a complete lack of understanding of their roles and how they contribute to patient care.

“We now need to see fully detailed plans for how patients will be protected and care will be transformed whilst losing so many nursing experts. We also need to see more detail on how exactly this funding will be used to improve services and address challenges like corridor care.”

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