- Conference
- 2009 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 10 December 2008
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
The last decade has seen a significant increase in the nursing workforce; with a combination of new nurses trained, people returning to nursing, and massive overseas recruitment, whilst the opposite has occurred in midwifery.
Back in 2006, due to financial difficulties in the NHS, vacancy freezes in a number of Trusts led to significant numbers of nurses being unable to get jobs.
Three years later and nursing and midwifery shortages are a reality again, exacerbated by the return home or to other countries by overseas nurses. This is particularly concerning as reductions in nurse training places as a result of the 2006/07 problems have not yet come through and are likely to have a significant impact on nursing numbers. More than ever it is essential to ensure that students are supported to stay within their training, but equally that students qualify with the appropriate skills to enter the workplace.
It is astonishing that with a number of trusts facing seriously low nursing numbers the NHS Employers have submitted evidence to the Pay Review Body that there are no problems with recruitment and retention.
Conference calls on the SGE to:
1.Highlight these concerns with the Department of Health, particularly with regard to ensuring that workforce planning takes the appropriate long term view in the future, rather than responding to short term financial pressures.
2.Look at further ways of improving retention of nurses.
3.Continue to press for measures to support the retention of students, including the continuing of the Pay not Poverty Campaign
4.Raise issues on nursing and midwifery shortages within ongoing pay campaigns.