Biography
Baroness Rafferty has engaged on health and social care topics exclusively through debate speeches, drawing on her professional expertise as a nurse, former Royal College of Nursing president, and academic. Her contributions have spanned adult social care reform, NHS workforce capacity, end-of-life care, cancer outcomes, maternity services, public health prevention, and employment rights for healthcare workers. She has frequently contextualised her remarks within her nursing background and research experience, notably speaking on palliative care principles during the assisted dying bill debate and workforce challenges in cancer care delivery.
Generated from their own Hansard record, below
“…Concentrated mainly in care homes, registered nurses carry heavy responsibilities. Adult social care pay has lagged far behind that of the NHS. This fair pay agreement will hopefully link responsibility to reward and begin to align social care pay with that of the NHS.…”
Record by topic
- NHS & care workforce/staffing56th of 3028.0
- Maternity & neonatal138th of 4386.0
- Public health & prevention252nd of 6886.0
- Mental health603rd of 8804.0
- Elderly care & frailty67th of 2364.0
- Health inequalities121st of 2884.0
- Adult social care & reform161st of 3764.0
- Assisted dying277th of 3712.0
- Cancer503rd of 6222.0
- Palliative & end of life care452nd of 5682.0
What they’ve said
“…NHS also presents an opportunity for articulation with the much-anticipated NHS workforce plan. In closing, can the Minister assure us that he will work closely with his noble friend the Minister for Health to ensure that these vital services are given the priority and attention they deserve?…”
King’s Speech · 2026-05-21 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…ak for the first time in this debate as a nurse and former dean of the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care at King’s College London. Our patron saints include Florence Nightingale and Cicely Saunders.”
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · 2026-04-24 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…There is a lot to commend in the National Cancer Plan for England, but, speaking as a nurse and a workforce researcher, I think that there are definitely challenges, as we have heard, to be met in ensuring that services meet the physical, psychological and social impact of cancer care.”
Cancer Outcomes in the UK · 2026-04-21 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…When I look at the health elements of this Budget, I see that it speaks very much to the wider social determinants of health and the impact they have on health outcomes, as well as specific health-related investments.”
Autumn Budget 2025 · 2025-12-04 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…Reserve, set up in 1938 to boost capacity within the service as the Government became aware of the scale of the nursing shortage. The UK entered the Covid-19 pandemic with no reserve capacity and tried to create some headroom with a temporary register.”
80th Anniversary of Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan · 2025-05-09 · Read on Hansard ↗
Contributions reproduced under the Open Parliament Licence.