Press Releases
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21/05/2026
Press Release
Depleted social care workforce burnt out and demoralised as underfunding issues persist, warns Royal College of Nursing
The depleted nursing workforce in adult social care is so burnt out from caring for too many people that one in three are looking to leave.
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21/05/2026
Press Release
Depleted social care workforce burnt out and demoralised as underfunding issues persist, warns Royal College of Nursing
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “At the heart of this is a workforce that has not been given the value it deserves. With an ageing population, the scale of the challenge for governments across the UK has never been clearer."
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20/05/2026
Press Release
Half a million children attended A&E in mental health crisis, as RCN calls for wider roll-out of mental health A&Es and for action on social determinants
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger, said: “Half a million children and young people attending A+E in a mental health crisis is evidence of a catastrophic system-wide failure. Nursing staff give their all in the most difficult circumstances, but the fact is that busy and stressful A+Es are wholly unsuitable places for anyone in mental distress, let alone vulnerable children."
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20/05/2026
Press Release
Half a million children attended A&E in mental health crisis, as RCN calls for wider roll-out of mental health A+Es and for action on social determinants
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health make joint intervention to stop children and young people facing ‘barbaric’ waits of up to 3 days in A&E.
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19/05/2026
Press Release
Racism allowed to ‘flourish’ in NHS says RCN, as tens of thousands of nursing staff report 78% surge in racist abuse
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger, said: “These findings show a catastrophic rise in the racist abuse faced by nursing staff. It is a disgrace, and perhaps just as bad is the fact that many NHS Trusts and Health Boards cannot even tell us how many staff have been on the receiving end. It amounts to a policy of ‘don’t know, don’t care."
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19/05/2026
Press Release
Nursing students in Wales pushed into poverty despite existing support, RCN warns
RCN Wales is calling on the Welsh Government to undertake an urgent review of the true cost of studying nursing, and to ensure financial support reflects the real pressures students are facing.
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18/05/2026
Press Release
Nursing leader warns collapsing nurse growth and rising complexity a ‘deadly mix’ for patients
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Widespread vacancies of registered nurses are always unsafe, but the risk is being compounded by the demands of delivering ever more complex care to an ageing, sicker population, with multiple conditions. It is a deadly mix."
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18/05/2026
Press Release
RCN UK-wide Freedom of Information request reveals continual rise in racial abuse towards nursing staff
In Wales, 342 incidents of racial abuse were reported between 2022 and 2025. This figure has risen by 93% since 2022, rising from 59 in 2022, 81 in 2023, 84 in 2024 and 114 in 2025.
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18/05/2026
Press Release
Nursing leader warns collapsing nurse growth and rising complexity a ‘deadly mix’ for patients
The findings are from the Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) latest ‘Last Shift’ survey, which asked more than 13,000 nursing staff across the UK about their experiences on their most recent shift.
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15/05/2026
Press Release
Top of his agenda must be delivering the improvements needed across health and care including long-overdue reform of pay and career progression, says Royal College of Nursing
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Top of his agenda must be delivering the improvements needed across health and care including long-overdue reform of pay and career progression for nursing staff. We stand ready to be part of the solution.”
Page last updated - 21/02/2025
