United Kingdom - Cutting specialist nurses would be “false economy”, says RCN

Citation

(2010), "United Kingdom - Cutting specialist nurses would be “false economy”, says RCN", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 23 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2010.06223eab.010

United Kingdom - Cutting specialist nurses would be “false economy”, says RCN

Article Type: From: International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Volume 23, Issue 5

Keywords: Specialist nursing positions, Healthcare policy, Long-term healthcare management

Cutting specialist nursing services for people with long-term conditions would be a “false economy”, argues the RCN and almost 40 of the UK’s leading health organisations.

The RCN says that specialist nurse posts, many of which were lost during the deficits crisis of 2006, save millions of pounds from health budgets through reduced complications, fewer hospital readmissions and the expert long-term management of conditions.

The RCN has conducted a survey of 60 of the leading health organisations and almost 300 of the specialist nurses they represent in order to assess the value and availability of specialist nursing to patients with a wide range of long-term conditions. Only 36 per cent felt that everyone who needed specialist nursing currently received it.

Of those who identified problems accessing specialist care (49 per cent), the overwhelming majority (69 per cent) reported that specialist nursing services are already overloaded and do not have capacity for new referrals.

Dr Peter Carter, RCN chief executive and general secretary, said: “Nurses realise that whoever wins the next election will be looking to make savings and to deliver more for less. While the temptation may be to cut or downgrade specialist nursing roles, this would be a false economy which would only add to the growing cost of treating long-term conditions”.

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