Prof Nicola RangerUnion

“Nursing staff strive to do their best for every patient on every shift, but they are left with the impossible task of caring for dozens and sometimes over a hundred at a time … the reality is they're not breaking; many are already broken. These findings are yet more cold, hard evidence that there are simply too few nursing staff to meet growing demand. New and urgent investment is desperately needed to grow the nursing workforce, ensuring staff are able to work in a safe environment and that patients get the best care.”

RCN chief executive and general secretary · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Two-thirds of nurses in UK work while unwell, says union ↗

“These proposals are not just immoral, they would be dangerous for our patients. No minister who has any interest in the success of our health and social care system would press ahead with extending the qualifying period for ILR.”

General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Up to 50,000 nurses could quit UK over immigration plans, survey suggests ↗

“Skyrocketing numbers leaving emergency departments without treatment is dangerous and a sign of a broken system. The reality is that the failure to deliver proper, well-resourced primary and community care services leaves people with no choice but to go to A&E, meanwhile those in hospital and ready to be discharged cannot leave because of that same lack of support available closer to home.”

General secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Numbers leaving A&E without treatment triples in six years ↗

“The scale, frequency and severity of the abuse faced by the NHS workforce make this a national emergency for staff safety.”

General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS staff face ‘national emergency’ as patient violence hits 285 incidents a day ↗

“This testimony from nursing staff reveals once again the devastating human consequences of corridor care, with patients forced to endure conditions which have no place in our NHS.”

General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS corridor care is ‘torture’ leading to patient deaths and staff nightmares ↗

“It has become increasingly clear that elements of the charter, including around promoting a culture of openness and transparency, are not being adhered to or enforced effectively. The secretary of state and NHS leadership need to introduce a simplified national standardised method for reporting sexual assaults.”

RCN general secretary · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Charter to tackle sexual harassment across NHS in England has failed, say unions ↗

“is right to describe the rising level of violence directed at NHS staff in England as an emergency”

general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · The Guardian view on protecting NHS staff: ministers must take a lead in reducing attacks on the health workforce | Editorial ↗

“Unless inflation falls, the government is forcing a very real pay cut on its NHS workers. This knife-edge gameplaying is no way to treat people who prop up a system in crisis.”

General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Health unions call 3.3% pay rise for 1.4m NHS staff in England ‘an insult’ ↗

“Year after year, the figures reveal disgraceful and steadily rising attacks against our predominantly female profession, with no sign of letting up, and falling confidence among staff that employers will do anything about it. This is a national emergency for staff safety and it should profoundly shock us all.”

Royal College of Nursing general secretary · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Hundreds of thousands of NHS staff in England attacked and harassed, survey shows ↗

“The recommendations show what needs to be done, but the true experience and horror is very difficult to capture in a report like this. There's more that could be said and done.”

General secretary of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS was ‘on brink of collapse’ during pandemic, Covid inquiry finds ↗

“With too few staff, overwhelming caseloads and excessive admin, community mental health nursing teams are caught in a perfect storm. It means that despite working exceptionally hard, they just cannot meet rising demand.”

general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Four-fifths of UK mental health nurses say their workload is unmanageable ↗

“Widespread vacancies of registered nurses are always unsafe. But the risk is being compounded by the demands of delivering ever more complex care to an ageing, sicker population, with multiple conditions. It's a deadly mix.”

Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Two-thirds of NHS nurses believe lack of staff is putting patients at risk, survey finds ↗

“These figures show a catastrophic rise in the racist abuse faced by nursing staff. While racism had always existed, those who hold these views have become more emboldened in recent times. It reflects a further breakdown in societal norms, in part fed by more extreme views being normalised in the mainstream and across media.”

General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Racist abuse of NHS nurses rising amid ‘normalisation’ of extreme views, RCN warns ↗

“Half a million children and young people attending A&E in a mental health crisis is evidence of a catastrophic system-wide failure.”

general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Children in mental health crisis waiting up to three days in A&E for specialist bed in England ↗

“It's absolutely essential that staff are safe at work, but the reality is racism in the NHS is on the rise, as is violence, aggression and sexual harassment. That these behaviours have become so normalised is alarming.”

general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS to curb political symbols on uniforms after antisemitism report ↗

“To bring this to an end, we need system-wide, long-term, sustainable solutions. This must include urgent investment in hospital beds and the nursing workforce, while also improving access to primary care, investing in community nursing and unlocking capacity in social care.”

General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · More than 1,300 deaths a month in England due to long A&E waits, figures suggest ↗

“Health and care services would cease to function without migrant nursing staff. While other countries offer immediate paths to settlement for nurses, the UK is going in the opposite direction.”

General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing · Adult social care & reform · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS could cease to function under Labour’s new visa rules, say nurses ↗

“Zero-tolerance policies on paper have done little to improve the day-to-day experience of nursing staff. To deliver real change for staff, robust enforcement mechanisms need to be in place for those who fail to deliver against the new standards.”

general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS to rate English trusts on tackling violence and racism towards staff ↗

“No elderly or vulnerable person should be forced to endure these conditions. It is unsafe, undignified, and unacceptable.”

Royal College of Nursing · Elderly care & frailty · 27 Aug 2026 · Nearly 150,000 aged 90 and above wait 12 hours in England’s A&Es each year ↗

“said that these testimonies were a "wake-up call", calling for an urgent programme to install air conditioning, improve ventilation and ensure heat-appropriate uniforms were available.”

general secretary and chief executive of the RCN · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 27 Aug 2026 · Nurses fainting in ‘inhumane’ conditions due to extreme heat, union warns ↗

“painted the stark picture of the "first discussion" not taking place with a doctor, but with a nurse at 2am”

Royal College of Nursing · Assisted dying · 17 Aug 2026 · Catholic Medical Association statement on new Assisted Suicide Bill ↗