NCF Welcomes The Health Committee’s Second Report Of Session 2017-19

The Health Committee calls on Health Education England to “Expand the Nursing Workforce at scale and pace”.

The report recognises the challenges of there not being enough nurses to meet the existing and growing needs of people using services across the NHS and importantly including Social Care, specifically care homes with Nursing. The challenges of recruitment, retention, keeping nurses from the EU, professional development and the impact of these issues on people using services and the nurses themselves are immense. Whilst much has been done – it hasn’t been sufficient.

Sharon Blackburn CBE, RGN RMN, Policy and Communications Director at the NCF Says of the report:

” The inclusion of nurses working in Social Care, in particular Care Homes with Nursing, is a welcome recognition of the 43,000 nurses that work in adult social care. The NHS is not the only place where registered nurses are employed. In Care Homes with Nursing a range of complex care, (including people living with dementia), is delivered in the context of relationship centred care. Ensuring that there are sufficient nurses to meet people’s health and care needs in a safe, effective and compassionate way is essential”.

We look forward to HEE making a reality of the recommendations so that this doesn’t just become another report on the nursing crisis. In addition, we want to see nurses working in social care being represented on the nursing wellbeing reference group which the report recommends is established by the CNO.

In addition, NCF and our membership will be responding to the consultation ‘Facing the Facts, Shaping the Future: a draft health and care workforce strategy for England to 2027’.

Sharon Blackburn continues:-

“It is vital that Nursing and other roles in social care form an equal part of any future considerations concerning workforce planning across health and social care.”