Health secretary’s plan to train 25% more nurses criticised as ‘too hospital-focused’

Topics covered: Ridouts professional advice

Jeremy Hunt has promised to increase the number of nurses in training by 25 per cent and make it easier for people to become nurses without needing a degree.

In response to Mr Hunt’s speech, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) had concerns about plans to increase nurse apprenticeships.

Janet Davies, the RCN general secretary, said:

“Significant increases to training numbers is welcome, we desperately need more nurses. However, they must be educated to the highest standards. We are concerned at the risk of students plugging the gaps in the current workforce at the expense of quality patient care and their own learning experience. These plans appear too hospital-focused.”

Mr Hunt has said: –

“The NHS will be looking after a million more over-75s in just a decade, so we need to jump-start nurse training. We will make sure that many of the additional places go to healthcare assistants training on hospital sites. This will allow us to expand our nurse workforce with some highly experienced people already working on the NHS frontline.”

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