22.10.12
RCN warns of nursing shortage
The NHS is facing a nursing shortage, a new review for the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) shows.
The annual Labour Market review, conducted by Edinburgh’s Queen Margaret University, warned that pressure on NHS finances, reductions in places on nursing courses and higher numbers of nurses moving abroad than are coming to the UK, could lead to a shortage.
The report concludes: “It is becoming clearer that NHS nurse staffing levels in England are likely to reduce significantly over the next five to 10 years if current policies and trends continue.
“We know we risk a nursing shortage, and failure to deal with it now will lead to a failure to improve healthcare. Without policy change, the overall policy direction of the NHS in England is now towards reduced nurse staffing.”
The review forms part of the evidence the RCN will submit to the NHS Pay Review Body.
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