The RCN has described the Westminster government’s new proposal to remove the legal requirement for there to be a registered nurse on NHS Foundation Trust boards in England as a brazen attack on patient safety. 

This proposed change would allow hospitals to make decisions about services for entire populations without any nursing expertise. 

The Westminster government’s Health Bill removes an important part of the existing 2006 National Health Service Act, including the legal requirement for nursing representation on Foundation Trust boards. 

The RCN believes the plans also raise serious questions about how nursing leadership on integrated care boards (ICBs) is sufficiently protected and consistently represented. 

Patient care must always be the priority, and the bill’s proposals could mean that financial targets are prioritised over safety, with nursing staff numbers cut to make savings.  

RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said:  

“Removing the legal requirement for there to be a registered nurse on NHS Foundation Trust boards is such a brazen attack on patient safety that words almost fail. 

“In the boardroom, the senior nurse is the firebreak. Their expertise protects the public by challenging leaders and ensuring that the patient remains at the centre of all decisions. The secretary of state must make it his urgent priority to keep guaranteed nursing leadership at executive level in law.” 

Read more about the Health Bill.