RCN Wales' response to Welsh Government's announcement on pre-registration nursing places
Monday 6 December 2021
Responding to the Welsh Government’s announcement of the number of commissioned nurse student places for 2022/23, Helen Whyley, Director of the Royal College of Nursing in Wales, said:
"We welcome the announcement of the additional student nurse places for all pre-registration nurses, but what is equally as pressing is the retention of our current nurses working in the NHS. As such, a Welsh Government Retention Strategy is crucial, which must include the assurance of safe nurse staffing levels, access to continuous professional development (CPD), flexible working opportunities and fair pay.”
It is disheartening that the Welsh Government did not increase the spending on post registration education and particularly the numbers of commissioned places for district nurses in Wales. Our district nurses are a precious resource and there are less district nurses now then there were 10 years ago, despite the increase in the number of people being cared for in the community and the complexity of care offered at home. The number of full-time equivalent district nurses dropped by 41 between June 2020 and June 2021 alone - this means in one year, the district nursing workforce decreased by 6%.”
Page last updated - 18/03/2023
