The Royal College of Nursing has urged the Government to “look to the lessons of history” when considering health spending cuts. The comments were made as part of a live podcast involving Howard Catton, head of policy and implementation, and Gerry O’Dwyer, senior employment relations adviser at RCN.
While recognising that it is unrealistic to think nursing will be “immune” to funding cuts, the podcast gives a stark warning against a “slash and burn” approach, highlighting that the Government’s aim to deliver high quality care will not be realised if there are not sufficient numbers of appropriately trained nurses. The podcast also includes discussions about the recently reported increase in NHS vacancies, pressures on NHS staff and nurses’ pay. Introducing pay incentives to teams, which demonstrate improvements to patient services is one idea suggested to increase pay for nurses as well as quality. Each month a new podcast will be produced, focusing on different issues that are topical in the world of nursing. The podcast can be downloaded from the homepage of the RCN website, www.rcn.org.uk, and will also be available from iTunes.
