RCN: Nurses are gold-plated resources
Wednesday, 30 Apr 2008 11:46
The jobs of specialist nurses must be safeguarded, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said.
The union found that the opposite appears to be the case after surveying 330 specialist and experienced nurses.
One in five said they were at risk of redundancy and 47 per cent have been at risk of re-banding/downgrading.
Nearly half (45 per cent) said they have worked outside of their specialist area to cover staff shortages and over a quarter (27 per cent) said cuts are being made in their workplace.
RCN general secretary Dr Petere Carter said it "beggars belief" that the jobs of specialists jobs are being affected by cuts while the NHS is on track to have a £1.8 billion surplus.
"Specialist nurses are our gold-plated resources who make a huge difference to the lives of their patients. The loss of just one of these highly trained experts will have a disproportionate impact on patients," he added.
"These are the very nurses who will be at the centre of the government's plans to deliver care closer to home and yet these same nurses are being treated as soft targets. We should be looking at ways to recruit more specialist nurses and keep those already working in the profession.
"Targeting them for redundancy and under utilising their skills is sure to send them in the opposite direction."