The NHS has lost more than 1,000 matrons and 3,400 other senior nursing staff over the last four years. This has led to warnings that hospitals are lacking vital experience and knowledge.
Despite continued calls to put nursing leaders at the heart of the NHS care, figures obtained by the Labour Party reveal the numbers of senior staff has dropped since 2010. A combination of an ageing workforce and cuts to staffing are behind the serious fall in these figures. Nurses have also warned a pay freeze and increasing job stress is driving them out of the profession.
Fareham Labour Parliamentary Candidate Stuart Rose said “We are committed to achieving 8,000 more doctors, 20,000 more nurses, 5000 more home-care workers and 3,000 more midwives by 2020 if elected in next May’s general election. We’ll fund this by clamping down avoidance and by raising tax on tobacco companies and properties worth more than £2 million.”