Press Releases
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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."
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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."
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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."
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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.
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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.
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07/08/2026
Press Release
A successful National Care Service can end ‘grotesque’ exploitation of migrant registered nurses in the sector, nursing union leader Professor Nicola Ranger says
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger, said: “Just a week after the Prime Minister laid out his plans for social care in England, this report exposes the scale of grotesque exploitation taking place in the sector. A National Care Service meeting the needs of an ageing population, with complex conditions, will need to be registered nurse led. We’re the ones with the skill and expertise to make it work, but that cannot happen while so many of our migrant colleagues are being exploited."
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06/08/2026
Press Release
New NHS mental health facilities will need specialist nurses at the centre, says Royal College of Nursing
RCN Head of Nursing Practice Stephen Jones said: "More services closer to people’s homes and new dedicated emergency departments are a crucial step towards more humane care. To succeed, both will need specialist mental health nurses at the centre."
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05/08/2026
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing calls on governments to urgently publish health and care guidance as updated EHRC Code of Practice comes into effect
RCN Chief Nursing Officer, Professor Lynn Woolsey said: “Without guidance, there remain many unanswered questions for nursing staff providing patient care in our health services. We are calling urgently for sector-specific guidance in all relevant parts of the UK, and we are raising these concerns directly with the Minister for Women and Equalities."
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30/07/2026
Press Release
Nursing staff 'at sharp end' of climate change as extreme heat deaths hit record levels, says Royal College of Nursing
Executive Director of RCN England Patricia Marquis, said: “Climate change is a public health emergency that is getting worse in front of our eyes. It requires urgent action from governments, including to improve NHS and care facilities so that they are safe to work and be cared for in"
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30/07/2026
Press Release
Royal College of Nursing warns against proposed cuts to practice learning hours for nursing students
RCN Chief Nursing Officer, Professor Lynn Woolsey said: "Nurse education is already in the grips of a crisis with courses at risk of closure and nurse educators facing redundancy. It makes it more important than ever for the regulator to protect the quality of learning, the experience of students and, ultimately, patient care.”
Page last updated - 02/06/2026
