Ryan FowlerAt the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) headquarters in London, members met with Victoria Atkins, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to voice concerns about the current challenges facing the nursing profession.
This meeting, held on 10 April 2024, is part of a series of political engagements organied by the RCN to ensure that political decision-makers are directly informed by those on the front lines. Previous meetings included discussions with Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Green Party Deputy Leader Zack Polanski.
The discussions covered a wide range of issues including pay and conditions, the urgent need to attract and retain nursing staff, the need for safe staffing levels, diversity in nursing leadership, more ethical recruitment practices for overseas nurses, and improved conditions for nursing students.
RCN deputy president Tracey Budding emphasised the importance of the year for the nursing profession: “2024 is set to be a big year not just for our politicians, but our nursing profession too. We need commitment and action in areas around pay, terms and conditions, safe staffing, ethical recruitment, staff wellbeing and much more.”
She urged Victoria Atkins to “ensure our nurses remain at the heart of government action – just as they are the beating heart of our health and care service.”
Members took the opportunity to ask the Secretary of State pressing questions about potential government actions on issues such as waiving tuition fees for nursing students, addressing disparities in pay and conditions, valuing the nursing voice on par with other medical professionals, and preventing the exploitation of overseas nursing staff.
The meeting closed with Rachel Hollis, chair of the RCN’s Professional Nursing Committee, thanking both the Secretary of State for her attendance and the members for their contributions. She reflected, “It does take remarkable people to work in nursing, but it is a profession that at the moment isn’t given the value it deserves. We hope to see outcomes from the questions asked today.”
