Responding to the review of patient safety across the health and care landscape, from Chair of NHS England Dr Penny Dash, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: 

“Taking a match to independent organisations designed to protect the public is a high-risk move when things are still so unsafe for patients and tens of thousands of nursing posts lie vacant. Reducing duplication is always sensible and it is right that the new national quality board will focus on quality and outcomes, but patients must be prioritised over drives for efficiency and financial savings. 

“The biggest threat to patient safety is having too few nurses and there is a clear link between better nurse to patient ratios and improved patient outcomes, mortality and length of stay. The best safety measure would be ensuring there are the right number of nursing staff to meet patient need, including in the community where numbers have collapsed. Without urgent investment in the workforce, and the publication of staffing levels to aid public scrutiny, efforts to improve patient safety will fall short. 

“This review promises greater transparency for patients, but the government is yet to publish any data on corridor care, despite repeated promises. The Ten Year Health Plan rightly commits to eradicating this horrific practice, but patients are continuing to suffer the indignity of being crammed into hospital corridors and cupboards while they wait for this vital first step. 

“The government’s plans to turn around the NHS must not fail and nursing staff stand ready to support them. But to truly protect patients, ministers must take ownership of the real safety issue, the staffing crisis on our wards and in our communities.” 

Ends