Dame Donna Kinnair addresses the key issues in our nursing workforce today at the RCN Congress

Pointings to the recently passed ‘ground-breaking’ staffing law in Scotland as evidence, she will call on the Government to introduce similar legislation throughout the UK.

“Rather than only looking at the cost of educating and employing nurses, the Government must think about the true cost – financial and human – of not doing it. Employers, decision-makers and Ministers with the power to change things should not let individual nurses take the blame for systemic failings.

“The Government must make people accountable in law for this situation and put back, into nursing higher education, the money it so catastrophically ripped out.

“The goodwill of nursing staff is being abused and politicians must know it is running out. I will not stand by while this profession is denigrated. I’m immensely privileged to take this job and fight for health care assistants, registered nurses and the future of our profession, the students.”