Press Releases
-
07/09/2026
Press Release
Violence and aggression towards A&E staff 'profoundly shocking', says Royal College of Nursing
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said the NHS is becoming a more dangerous place to work, and this falls especially hard on female dominated professions like nursing.
-
03/09/2026
Press Release
Government right to start taking action on modern slavery, but need to be far bolder to end all exploitation in social care, says Royal College of Nursing
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Modern slavery is a shocking crime and it’s right that the government is starting to take action. The reality is these changes alone will leave most of the exploitation unaddressed, with some employers using a wider spectrum of exploitative practices that wouldn’t meet the very high threshold for modern slavery."
-
02/09/2026
Press Release
No one deserves to receive care in a hospital corridor, let alone someone at the end of their life, says Royal College of Nursing
Royal College of Nursing Chief Nursing Officer Professor Lynn Woolsey said: “To prevent those with terminal illnesses from enduring such shocking care, we need the government to deliver on its commitment to keep people comfortable closer to home."
-
02/09/2026
Press Release
Rise in children attending A+E in mental health crisis 'damning indictment of a failing system', says Royal College of Nursing
RCN Chief Nursing Officer, Professor Lynn Woolsey, said: “the rise in children presenting to A+E in mental health crisis is a damning indictment of a failing system, with desperate families left with nowhere else to turn."
-
01/09/2026
Press Release
New expenses system will provide some financial relief but inadequate financial support means poverty still a daily reality for nursing students, says Royal College of Nursing
Executive Director for RCN England Patricia Marquis, said: “A comprehensive new package of financial support is needed for student nurses, as is bold reform to a broken tuition fee model and measures to ensure all nursing graduates can secure employment.”
-
27/08/2026
Press Release
Nurses ‘stacking shelves’ as graduates blocked from third of entry level NHS jobs last month, figures show
Executive Director for RCN England, Patricia Marquis, said: “Students feel used: by a university system that saddles them with debt; by employers who lean on them during clinical placements but refuse to offer them work at the end of it. It’s insulting to a workforce that is so essential for the safe running of the health system and risks damaging the reputation of our profession by driving away the next generation of nurses."
-
26/08/2026
Press Release
Climate death figures reminder of how urgently government must tackle climate change and adapt health and care facilities, says Royal College of Nursing
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger, said: “The reality is that these new figures don’t even cover this year, when relentless and record-breaking heat resulted in nursing staff collapsing on shift and patients suffering in impossibly hot hospitals and care homes."
-
25/08/2026
Press Release
Mental health nursing teams are severely under-resourced and simply cannot come close to meeting rising demand for services, warns Royal College of Nursing
RCN Head of Nursing Practice, Stephen Jones, said: “This survey is yet more evidence of a system failing patients on a scale that is truly staggering."
-
13/08/2026
Press Release
RCN says extreme heat making NHS ‘impossible environment’ as nursing staff collapse in workplaces ‘not fit for humans’
The RCN says nursing staff are collapsing on shift and patients are "suffering" in facilities "not fit for humans" due to heat caused by climate change.
-
13/08/2026
Press Release
'Country needs more nurses than are being accepted', says Royal College of Nursing on A Level results day
Executive Director for RCN England, Patricia Marquis, said the numbers joining the nursing profession has flatlined in recent years.
Page last updated - 02/06/2026
