UK Nurses Warn Government Over Nursing Jobs Crisis
Monday, January 30th, 2006The RCN’s General Secretary Dr Beverly Malone said: “The government dismissed our claim that NHS deficits are now beyond £1 billion. They have repeatedly ignored our warnings that many NHS trusts are in financial meltdown. Yet here is more evidence of the cash crisis facing the NHS.
“It is unacceptable that trust’s efforts to save money are now adversely affecting patient care and services, and threatening nursing jobs.
“Our members, staff and activists are telling us it will be impossible for many trusts to balance their books this year without closing services, reducing patient choice and losing essential clinical posts.
“The government has got to give these trusts some breathing space to tackle their deficits, so that patients do not suffer.”
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world with over 380,000 members. The RCN promotes the interest of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations.



