Prof Nicola Ranger

Who Prof Nicola Ranger is

Professor Nicola Ranger is General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), appointed permanently to the role in July 2024 having served as acting head since May 2024. She joined the RCN in December 2022 as Chief Nursing Officer, having previously been Chief Nurse and Executive Director of Midwifery at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Earlier in her career she held chief nurse posts at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, and worked at George Washington University Hospital and Mount Sinai Medical Centre in New York. She is known for declaring a 'national emergency' over corridor care at RCN Congress in June 2024, and for campaigning publicly for substantial pay rises for nursing staff and mandatory safe nurse-to-patient ratios across all care settings.

References for this biography

1. 1.RCN appoints permanent General Secretary and Chief Executive | Royal College of Nursing — Current role title, appointment date, career history at King's College Hospital, Brighton and Sussex, Frimley Health, and US hospitals
2. 2.RCN's acting chief executive appointed on permanent basis | Nursing Times — Confirms permanent appointment July 2024, previous roles including dates at King's College Hospital, Brighton and Sussex, and Frimley Health
3. 3.Nursing union declares 'national emergency' over corridor care crisis | Royal College of Nursing — Establishes Ranger's public campaign on corridor care at RCN Congress June 2024
4. 4.'Substantial' pay rise for all nurses among RCN manifesto calls | Nursing in Practice — Establishes her public advocacy for nursing pay rises and safe staffing ratios
5. 5.Keynote speaker: Professor Nicola Ranger, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive | Royal College of Nursing — Confirms current role title as General Secretary and Chief Executive as of 2026 RCN Congress
6. 6.Executive Team | Royal College of Nursing — Official RCN staff page confirming her role and career background

Notable achievements

• Declared a 'national emergency' over corridor care at RCN Congress in June 2024, leading to sustained political pressure and a commitment from the Health Secretary to eradicate the practice. Source ↗
• Appointed permanent General Secretary and Chief Executive of the RCN in July 2024 following an external recruitment process, replacing Professor Pat Cullen who stood down to stand for election as an MP. Source ↗
• Led the RCN through its 2024 General Election Manifesto, calling for a substantial pay rise for all nursing staff and safety-critical nurse-to-patient ratios in all care settings. Source ↗

What Prof Nicola Ranger has said

• “Today the Prime Minister has shown again that he gets the urgent need for social care reform. Nursing staff, who share his sentiments and sense of urgency, won't forgive politicians if they fail in their moral duty to get behind this.”

  General secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing · Elderly care & frailty · 30 Sept 2026 · Social care and NHS should be integrated as ‘one workforce’, Burnham says ↗

• “Nursing staff are being driven to ill health from working in understaffed and under resourced services. And what's worse, many feel they cannot take time off for fear of leaving their colleagues at the mercy of brutal pressures. This simply isn't sustainable.”

  RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 30 Sept 2026 · Working in understaffed services is making nurses sick, as new research shows staff suffering nightmares and panic attacks ↗

• “Nursing staff are being driven to ill health from working in understaffed and under-resourced services. And what's worse, many feel they cannot take time off for fear of leaving their colleagues at the mercy of brutal pressures.”

  Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 30 Sept 2026 · Survey finds workforce troubles leave nurses working while ill ↗

• “The real human cost of long waits and overcrowding is patients languishing in corridors, going into cardiac arrest, receiving intimate care, or being given end-of-life news in full view of others.”

  general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing · Adult social care & reform · 30 Sept 2026 · Shocking scale of A&E waits at NHS hospitals revealed ↗

• “A National Care Service that starts at home, delivering care to a population with increasingly complex needs, will need to be led by registered nurses. The prime minister is right to recognise the skill and dedication of staff in social care, and to acknowledge how badly they've been failed, but the reality is nurse numbers alone have fallen by a third in the last decade.”

  RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive · Adult social care & reform · 30 Sept 2026 · Prime minister unveils vision for National Care Service | News ↗

• “A sustained campaign of anti-migrant rhetoric is fuelling a growing cesspool of racism, including against international and ethnic minority nursing staff, without whom our health and care system would simply cease to function.”

  general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 30 Sept 2026 · Racism and violence in the NHS ↗

• “Today's announcement is significant progress on career progression for nursing staff. Too many are not being paid fairly or valued for their skills and responsibilities in caring for patients, too often starting and finishing their careers on the same low pay band.”

  RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 30 Sept 2026 · Nurses to benefit from boost to graduate pay and job progression ↗

• “If you are in an advanced role, in any setting – be proud of your qualifications, your nursing expertise, and your years of experience. This college is beside you and behind you. But be proud of your title too. You are not just advanced clinical practitioners, you are advanced nurse practitioners. Wear your nursing title with pride, in any job you do.”

  Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) · Public health & prevention · 30 Sept 2026 · Advanced nurses must ‘wear their title with pride’, urges RCN chief ↗

• “Our profession deserves a fair award negotiated directly, not one that sees them fall further behind the colleagues they work closest with to provide care.”

  RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive · GP access · 30 Sept 2026 · GP nursing pay: what the DDRB announcement means for you | News ↗

• “Rising demand, ever more complex need and an ageing population are causing chaos in the NHS, with hospitals facing overwhelming pressure and staff increasingly struggling to keep patients safe.”

  RCN general secretary and chief executive · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 30 Sept 2026 · NHS groups urge new health secretary to pause 10-year workforce plan ↗

• “Rising demand, ever more complex need and an ageing population are causing chaos in the NHS, with hospitals facing overwhelming pressure and staff increasingly struggling to keep patients safe. Evidence-based, fully funded workforce planning that ensures there are the right number of vital, life-saving staff in place couldn't be more needed.”

  RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 30 Sept 2026 · NHS workforce plan ‘must be paused’ over concerns it fails to safely grow staff numbers and over-relies on AI, say health unions and professional bodies ↗

• “Rising demand, ever more complex need and an ageing population are causing chaos in the NHS, with hospitals facing overwhelming pressure and staff increasingly struggling to keep patients safe.”

  RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 30 Sept 2026 · RCN urges government to pause NHS workforce plan over staff shortages and AI ↗

• “zero tolerance policies alone have not sufficiently improved the day to day experience of nursing staff and argued that employers should rapidly develop practical action plans in partnership with trade unions”

  General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 30 Sept 2026 · NHS Workforce Standards Aim to Improve Staff Safety ↗

• “Even before the cold weather hits, the number of people experiencing long, tortuous waits in A&E are skyrocketing. All signs are pointing to a corridor care disaster this winter and ministers must now take urgent steps to keep patients safe.”

  general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing · A&E & ambulance response · 30 Sept 2026 · Less than two-thirds of A&E arrivals at the Royal Devon University Healthcare Trust seen within four hours ↗

• “We're worried about pay progression for general practice nurses [and] we're also concerned about the terms and conditions. It is very difficult to get people to want to work in general practices sometimes because of the terms and conditions.”

  Royal College of Nursing (RCN) chief executive and general secretary · GP access · 30 Sept 2026 · RCN chief on ensuring ‘we get things better’ for general practice nurses ↗

• “the testimonies showed the "devastating human consequences" of the pressures in hospitals”

  RCN general secretary · A&E & ambulance response · 30 Sept 2026 · One in 10 A&E patients waited over 12 hours in 2025 ↗

• “District nursing is among the best investments a government can make. They are key to delivering expert interventions to help people live healthier lives in their communities, their visits are vastly cheaper than expensive hospital admission, and they will be absolute vital in the success of the planned neighbourhood health service.”

  RCN general secretary and chief executive · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 30 Sept 2026 · State of district nursing workforce a 'reality check' Government's NHS reforms ↗

• “our general secretary, Professor Nicola Ranger, also addressed the Nursing in Practice London event earlier this year”

  General Secretary of RCN · GP access · 30 Sept 2026 · ‘Now is the time to reset the discussion on general practice nurse pay’ ↗

• “When we get it wrong in healthcare, it's usually because we're being paternalistic. And it's really important, whatever safeguards are there, whatever process, whatever system is there, the underlying basis has got to be autonomy of individuals and patients as a bedrock.”

  General Secretary and Chief Executive of the RCN · Assisted dying · 30 Sept 2026 · Dying people and bereaved relatives join experts in urging Peers to put autonomy at the heart of Assisted Dying Bill and hear lived experience evidence ↗

• “The real human cost of long waits and overcrowding is patients languishing in corridors, going into cardiac arrest, receiving intimate care, or being given end-of-life news in full view of others. Overcrowding and corridor care are symptoms of the failure to get to grips with care in alternate settings, including in social care and the community.”

  Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing · A&E & ambulance response · 30 Sept 2026 · More than 1.7m waited over 12 hours in A&E last year, bombshell report suggests ↗

• “When the government fails to invest in prevention, it is only storing up costly problems for the future. There is no hidden army of health visitors and school nurses waiting in the wings to ensure families, children and young people get the right care, when they need it.”

  RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive · Children's health · 30 Sept 2026 · Understaffed health visitors unable to carry out vital checks ↗

• “These figures are incredibly alarming. With the Autumn Budget not far away this is the government's chance to invest in the NHS, including additional beds in properly equipped and staffed clinical spaces.”

  General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing · NHS waiting lists · 30 Sept 2026 · NHS waiting list progress grinds to a halt as top medic flags 'critical issues' ↗

• “All signs are pointing to a corridor care disaster this winter and ministers must now take urgent steps to keep patients safe.”

  chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing · NHS waiting lists · 30 Sept 2026 · NHS in ‘state of emergency’ despite Reeves cash boost ↗

• “All signs are pointing to a corridor care disaster this winter and ministers must now take urgent steps to keep patients safe.”

  general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing · NHS waiting lists · 30 Sept 2026 · Waiting list for planned hospital treatment rises for third month in a row ↗

• “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 RCN · A&E & ambulance response · 30 Sept 2026 · Deaths related to long ED waits surge almost tenfold ↗

• “Prof Nicola Ranger, from the Royal College of Nursing, 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 · 30 Sept 2026 · Catholic Medical Association statement on re-introduction of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill ↗

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

  RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive · Children's health · 30 Sept 2026 · System-wide failure in children's mental health, RCN says ↗

• “The Bill will never cover anything, but the principle is the respect for autonomy. When we get it wrong in healthcare, it's often because we are being paternalistic… The underlying basis of the College and of individuals is that autonomy must be the bedrock of decisions.”

  General Secretary and Chief Executive at Royal College of Nursing · Assisted dying · 30 Sept 2026 · Lords Assisted Dying Select Committee told: ‘patient autonomy is essential’ ↗

• “The UK Government needs to act quickly and provide support now to the many doctors and nursing staff, and their families, who have suffered significant financial losses as a result of contracting COVID-19 in the workplace and then developing Long COVID.”

  RCN general secretary and chief executive · Long Covid · 30 Sept 2026 · ‘Unconscionable’ that the Government has not recognised Long COVID as an occupational disease, warns BMA and RCN ↗

• “The UK Government needs to act quickly and provide support now to the many doctors and nursing staff, and their families, who have suffered significant financial losses as a result of contracting Covid-19 in the workplace and then developing long Covid.”

  RCN general secretary and chief executive · Long Covid · 30 Sept 2026 · Fresh call to recognise long Covid as occupational disease for nurses ↗

• “These findings must mark a moment in time – never again can nursing and the public be failed like this.”

  RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive · Long Covid · 30 Sept 2026 · COVID inquiry: “Never again can nursing be failed like this” | News ↗

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

  RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive · Mental health · 30 Sept 2026 · Half a million children attended A&E in mental health crisis, as RCN calls for wider roll-out of mental health A&Es and for action on social determinants ↗

• “the government must put greater 'energy and focus' into care delivered outside of hospital settings to help eliminate corridor care”

  Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing · Palliative & end of life care · 30 Sept 2026 · ‘Too many patients’ receiving palliative care in hospitals instead of hospices ↗

• “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.”

  RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive · Mental health · 30 Sept 2026 · Community mental health nursing overwhelmed by staffing issues and caseloads | News ↗

• “Chief nurses deserve their expertise and leadership to be recognised and their place guaranteed so they can advocate on behalf of patients and for the nursing workforce.”

  RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 29 Sept 2026 · Health Bill: what is it and why should nursing staff care? ↗

• “In all parts of the UK we need to see new urgency to address the crisis in social care. Everywhere you look, the lack of political leadership has left the sector neglected, and its workforce depleted and exhausted.”

  RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 29 Sept 2026 · Depleted social care workforce burnt out and demoralised as underfunding issues persist ↗

• “The real human cost of long waits and overcrowding is patients languishing in corridors, going into cardiac arrest, receiving intimate care, or being given end-of-life news in full view of others. Overcrowding and corridor care are symptoms of the failure to get to grips with care in alternate settings, including in social care and the community.”

  chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing · A&E & ambulance response · 29 Sept 2026 · Over 1.7 million waited for more than 12 hours for A&E care last year – review ↗

• “The numbers are clear: we would have tens of thousands more nurses working in our NHS if we'd had the necessary investment to keep up with demand. Instead, our numbers have been held down, in contrast to other staff.”

  RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 29 Sept 2026 · NHS nurse shortage far worse than official figures suggest, warns RCN ↗

• “The numbers are clear: we would have tens of thousands more nurses working in our NHS if we'd had the necessary investment to keep up with demand.”

  General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 29 Sept 2026 · NHS ‘underestimates’ nurse shortage as workforce lags behind medics ↗

• “The numbers are clear: we would have tens of thousands more nurses working in our NHS if we'd had the necessary investment to keep up with demand. Instead, our numbers have been held down, in contrast to other staff.”

  RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 29 Sept 2026 · Nurse shortage far worse than first thought, RCN analysis shows ↗

• “It's utterly shocking that sick patients should wait hours for pain relief or vital medication while some are falling, breaking bones and deteriorating needlessly. The truth is patient safety incidents aren't isolated and trusts are recording hundreds each month due to registered nurse shortages.”

  RCN general secretary and chief executive · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 29 Sept 2026 · West Midlands nurse lifts lid on shortage as NHS patients 'deteriorating needlessly' ↗

• “Investment in nurse education is critical for staffing the NHS and the government's ambition to shift care into the community in England. We warned how damaging the decision to shut off this funding route for Level 7 Apprenticeships would be and it is a welcome step to see funding options restored to these vital specialist career routes.”

  General secretary and chief executive, Royal College of Nursing · Women's health & gynaecology · 29 Sept 2026 · Funding for Level 7 apprenticeships to exclude general practice nursing ↗

• “Unprecedented heatwaves had "supercharged" this crisis”

  general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing · NHS waiting lists · 14 Sept 2026 · NHS Logs Busiest Summer Yet as A&E Waits Persist ↗

• “A failure to address social care remains a roadblock to meaningful improvements in the NHS”

  RCN general secretary and chief executive · A&E & ambulance response · 10 Sept 2026 · NHS England’s billion pound investment in A&E ‘not fixing’ problems ↗

• “A neighbourhood health service is a bold vision and it needs nursing staff in the driving seat. The prime minister must back up his plan with a clear one to turn around the shortage of nurses in all local communities.”

  general secretary and chief executive of Royal College of Nursing · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Nurses to be based in ‘neighbourhood centres’ under government plan ↗

• “This shift to the community will be vital in ending the unsustainable pressures on emergency departments and the unacceptable practice of corridor care.”

  General Secretary and Chief Executive, Royal College of Nursing · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · First neighbourhood health services to be rolled out from September ↗

• “This outcome shows their expectations of government are far higher. Our members do not yet feel valued and they are looking for urgent action, not rhetorical commitments.”

  RCN general secretary and chief executive · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 8 Sept 2026 · Nursing union opinion split on 5.5% pay rise ↗

• “A fair pay agreement in social care, enshrined in law, and a new body to root out care worker exploitation are measures the RCN has long been calling for. Raising pay, rights and employment standards in the sector is now a step closer to reality.”

  RCN general secretary and chief executive · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 8 Sept 2026 · UK Employment Rights Bill: What will it mean for nurses? ↗

• “Top of her agenda must be delivering on nursing pay reform that has been so neglected for decades. This cannot stand any longer if she is to get the NHS back on track and fix adult social care.”

  RCN general secretary and chief executive · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Adult social care ‘must be a priority’ for new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ↗

• “These expert nursing roles are key to transforming care, especially for the vulnerable and must see investment”

  Royal College of Nursing general secretary and chief executive · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Lack of investment in community services risks shift away from hospital ↗

• “Under these circumstances, it is little wonder these nursing experts face impossible workloads, with unpaid work the norm and now many choosing to quit altogether”

  General secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Drop in district nursing workforce a ‘critically urgent issue’ ↗

• “It's an absolute scandal that seeking a better work-life balance or simply moving employers can see decades of hard work and dedication go up in smoke.”

  General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Experienced community nurses forced down to lower-paid roles ↗

• “All signs are pointing to a corridor care disaster this winter and ministers must now take urgent steps to keep patients safe”

  RCN general secretary and chief executive · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 8 Sept 2026 · Winter warnings begin to mount as vaccination efforts are ramped up ↗

• “It breaks the hearts of nursing staff and doctors that patients are lining corridors, waiting hours to be seen.”

  RCN general secretary and chief executive · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 8 Sept 2026 · MPs brand NHS corridor care crisis a ‘source of national shame’ ↗

• “Nursing staff have repeatedly warned about a corridor-care national emergency, but the lack of urgency in tackling the crisis is unacceptable.”

  RCN general secretary and chief executive · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 8 Sept 2026 · NHS faces ‘tidal wave’ of flu as RCN reiterates dangers of corridor care ↗

• “These devastating findings mirror the testimony of nursing staff about the lack of dignity afforded to the elderly. No one, let alone those at their most vulnerable, should be forced to receive treatment in corridors and other inappropriate spaces”

  General secretary and chief executive, Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 8 Sept 2026 · Charity issues warning on spike in older people waiting for days in A&E ↗

• “Nursing is a global family, and Alex Pretti's death in such violent circumstances will be felt deeply.”

  General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 8 Sept 2026 · Over $1m raised for family of nurse shot dead in Minneapolis ↗

• “With too few staff, overwhelming caseloads and excessive admin, community mental health nursing teams are caught in a perfect storm.”

  RCN general secretary and chief executive · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Community mental health nurses ‘caught in perfect storm’, warns RCN ↗

• “Truly eradicating corridor care requires bigger and bolder long term action, with the detail and new funding to match”

  General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 8 Sept 2026 · Welcome steps towards eliminating ‘unacceptable’ corridor care in NHS ↗

• “It's positive to see new detail and funding attached to corridor care plans in England. This wouldn't have been possible without the brave testimony of nursing staff who lifted the lid on the national scandal of collapsing care standards.”

  Royal College of Nursing general secretary and chief executive · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 8 Sept 2026 · Government announces fresh moves to counter corridor care ↗

• “Without the right funding, it will not be possible to reduce the need for admission to hospital in the first place and improve discharge to free up beds for those who need them most.”

  General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 8 Sept 2026 · A&E pressures putting nurses at risk from ‘moral distress and moral injury’ ↗

• “That as many as 3,000 people a day were cared for in corridors during a spring month is such a damning indictment of how far care standards have fallen that words almost fail”

  general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 8 Sept 2026 · NHS publishes data on corridor care in hospitals for first time ↗

• “Nursing staff are being driven to ill health from working in understaffed and under-resourced services. And what's worse, many feel they cannot take time off for fear of leaving their colleagues at the mercy of brutal pressures. This simply isn't sustainable.”

  RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 8 Sept 2026 · RCN warns of workforce shortages causing nightmares and panic attacks ↗

• “Behind these figures are thousands of vulnerable people forced to endure intimate examinations in public, placed into areas with little to no appropriate medical equipment. It is undignified, unacceptable and must end.”

  General Secretary and Chief Executive, Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Corridor care ‘new normal’ in England for one in five NHS inpatients ↗

• “Every single ethnic minority nursing professional deserves to go to work without fear of being abused, and employers have a legal duty to ensure workplaces are safe. These findings must refocus minds in the fight against racism.”

  RCN general secretary and chief executive · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Racist incidents against UK nurses surge by 55% ↗

• “The rise in the racist abuse that staff face is a stain on society and a stain on our NHS. Racism is an issue across society and is particularly pertinent in health and care services, with such a diverse workforce. We have to recognise that the increasing use of anti-migrant rhetoric in politics is emboldening racist behaviour.”

  Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS staff bearing brunt as ‘ugly’ racism of 70s and 80s returns, says Streeting ↗

• “A sustained campaign of anti-migrant rhetoric is fuelling a growing cesspool of racism, including against international and ethnic minority nursing staff, without whom our health and care system would simply cease to function.”

  General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS staff who visit patients at home say St George’s flags can mean ‘no-go zones’ ↗

• “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 ↗

Where Prof Nicola Ranger has been quoted

1. Baroness brands social care as ‘creaking, inconsistent and impenetrable’nursingtimes.net · 30 Sept 2026
2. Social care and NHS should be integrated as ‘one workforce’, Burnham saysnursinginpractice.com · 30 Sept 2026
3. Working in understaffed services is making nurses sick, as new research shows staff suffering nightmares and panic attacksrcn.org.uk · 30 Sept 2026
4. Survey finds workforce troubles leave nurses working while illnationalhealthexecutive.com · 30 Sept 2026
5. Shocking scale of A&E waits at NHS hospitals revealedexpress.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
6. Prime minister unveils vision for National Care Service | Newsrcn.org.uk · 30 Sept 2026
7. Racism and violence in the NHSkeepournhspublic.com · 30 Sept 2026
8. Nurses to benefit from boost to graduate pay and job progressiongov.uk · 30 Sept 2026
9. Advanced nurses must ‘wear their title with pride’, urges RCN chiefnursinginpractice.com · 30 Sept 2026
10. GP nursing pay: what the DDRB announcement means for you | Newsrcn.org.uk · 30 Sept 2026
11. NHS groups urge new health secretary to pause 10-year workforce planpersonneltoday.com · 30 Sept 2026
12. NHS workforce plan ‘must be paused’ over concerns it fails to safely grow staff numbers and over-relies on AI, say health unions and professional bodiesrcn.org.uk · 30 Sept 2026
13. RCN urges government to pause NHS workforce plan over staff shortages and AIrcn.org.uk · 30 Sept 2026
14. NHS Workforce Standards Aim to Improve Staff Safetyemjreviews.com · 30 Sept 2026
15. Less than two-thirds of A&E arrivals at the Royal Devon University Healthcare Trust seen within four hourscreditoncourier.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
16. RCN chief on ensuring ‘we get things better’ for general practice nursesnursinginpractice.com · 30 Sept 2026
17. One in 10 A&E patients waited over 12 hours in 2025bbc.com · 30 Sept 2026
18. State of district nursing workforce a 'reality check' Government's NHS reformshealthcare-management.uk · 30 Sept 2026
19. ‘Now is the time to reset the discussion on general practice nurse pay’nursinginpractice.com · 30 Sept 2026
20. Dying people and bereaved relatives join experts in urging Peers to put autonomy at the heart of Assisted Dying Bill and hear lived experience evidencedignityindying.org.uk · 30 Sept 2026
21. More than 1.7m waited over 12 hours in A&E last year, bombshell report suggestslbc.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
22. Understaffed health visitors unable to carry out vital checksrcn.org.uk · 30 Sept 2026
23. NHS waiting list progress grinds to a halt as top medic flags 'critical issues'mirror.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
24. NHS in ‘state of emergency’ despite Reeves cash boosttelegraph.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
25. Waiting list for planned hospital treatment rises for third month in a roweadt.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
26. Deaths related to long ED waits surge almost tenfoldhealthcare-management.uk · 30 Sept 2026
27. Catholic Medical Association statement on re-introduction of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Billcbcew.org.uk · 30 Sept 2026
28. System-wide failure in children's mental health, RCN saysrcn.org.uk · 30 Sept 2026
29. Lords Assisted Dying Select Committee told: ‘patient autonomy is essential’humanists.uk · 30 Sept 2026
30. ‘Unconscionable’ that the Government has not recognised Long COVID as an occupational disease, warns BMA and RCNbma.org.uk · 30 Sept 2026
31. Fresh call to recognise long Covid as occupational disease for nursesnursinginpractice.com · 30 Sept 2026
32. COVID inquiry: “Never again can nursing be failed like this” | Newsrcn.org.uk · 30 Sept 2026
33. Half a million children attended A&E in mental health crisis, as RCN calls for wider roll-out of mental health A&Es and for action on social determinantsrcn.org.uk · 30 Sept 2026
34. ‘Too many patients’ receiving palliative care in hospitals instead of hospicesnursinginpractice.com · 30 Sept 2026
35. Community mental health nursing overwhelmed by staffing issues and caseloads | Newsrcn.org.uk · 30 Sept 2026
36. Health Bill: what is it and why should nursing staff care?rcn.org.uk · 29 Sept 2026
37. Depleted social care workforce burnt out and demoralised as underfunding issues persistherald.wales · 29 Sept 2026
38. Over 1.7 million waited for more than 12 hours for A&E care last year – reviewcareappointments.com · 29 Sept 2026
39. NHS nurse shortage far worse than official figures suggest, warns RCNnationalhealthexecutive.com · 29 Sept 2026
40. NHS ‘underestimates’ nurse shortage as workforce lags behind medicsnursingtimes.net · 29 Sept 2026
41. Nurse shortage far worse than first thought, RCN analysis showsrcn.org.uk · 29 Sept 2026
42. West Midlands nurse lifts lid on shortage as NHS patients 'deteriorating needlessly'uk.news.yahoo.com · 29 Sept 2026
43. Funding for Level 7 apprenticeships to exclude general practice nursingnursinginpractice.com · 29 Sept 2026
44. NHS Logs Busiest Summer Yet as A&E Waits Persistmedscape.com · 14 Sept 2026
45. NHS England’s billion pound investment in A&E ‘not fixing’ problemsnursingtimes.net · 10 Sept 2026
46. Nurses to be based in ‘neighbourhood centres’ under government plannursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
47. First neighbourhood health services to be rolled out from Septembernursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
48. Nursing union opinion split on 5.5% pay risenursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
49. UK Employment Rights Bill: What will it mean for nurses?nursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
50. Adult social care ‘must be a priority’ for new Secretary of State for Health and Social Carecarehomeprofessional.com · 8 Sept 2026
51. Lack of investment in community services risks shift away from hospitalnursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
52. Drop in district nursing workforce a ‘critically urgent issue’nursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
53. Experienced community nurses forced down to lower-paid rolesnursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
54. Winter warnings begin to mount as vaccination efforts are ramped upnursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
55. MPs brand NHS corridor care crisis a ‘source of national shame’nursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
56. NHS faces ‘tidal wave’ of flu as RCN reiterates dangers of corridor carenursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
57. Charity issues warning on spike in older people waiting for days in A&Enursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
58. Over $1m raised for family of nurse shot dead in Minneapolisnursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
59. Community mental health nurses ‘caught in perfect storm’, warns RCNnursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
60. Welcome steps towards eliminating ‘unacceptable’ corridor care in NHSnursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
61. Government announces fresh moves to counter corridor carenursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
62. A&E pressures putting nurses at risk from ‘moral distress and moral injury’nursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
63. NHS publishes data on corridor care in hospitals for first timenursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
64. RCN warns of workforce shortages causing nightmares and panic attacksrcn.org.uk · 8 Sept 2026
65. Corridor care ‘new normal’ in England for one in five NHS inpatientstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
66. Racist incidents against UK nurses surge by 55%theguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
67. NHS staff bearing brunt as ‘ugly’ racism of 70s and 80s returns, says Streetingtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
68. NHS staff who visit patients at home say St George’s flags can mean ‘no-go zones’theguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
69. Two-thirds of nurses in UK work while unwell, says uniontheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
70. Up to 50,000 nurses could quit UK over immigration plans, survey suggeststheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
71. Numbers leaving A&E without treatment triples in six yearstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
72. NHS staff face ‘national emergency’ as patient violence hits 285 incidents a daytheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
73. NHS corridor care is ‘torture’ leading to patient deaths and staff nightmarestheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
74. Charter to tackle sexual harassment across NHS in England has failed, say unionstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
75. The Guardian view on protecting NHS staff: ministers must take a lead in reducing attacks on the health workforce | Editorialtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
76. Health unions call 3.3% pay rise for 1.4m NHS staff in England ‘an insult’theguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
77. Hundreds of thousands of NHS staff in England attacked and harassed, survey showstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
78. NHS was ‘on brink of collapse’ during pandemic, Covid inquiry findstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
79. Four-fifths of UK mental health nurses say their workload is unmanageabletheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
80. Two-thirds of NHS nurses believe lack of staff is putting patients at risk, survey findstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
81. Racist abuse of NHS nurses rising amid ‘normalisation’ of extreme views, RCN warnstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
82. Children in mental health crisis waiting up to three days in A&E for specialist bed in Englandtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
83. NHS to curb political symbols on uniforms after antisemitism reporttheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
84. More than 1,300 deaths a month in England due to long A&E waits, figures suggesttheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
85. NHS could cease to function under Labour’s new visa rules, say nursestheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
86. NHS to rate English trusts on tackling violence and racism towards stafftheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
87. Nearly 150,000 aged 90 and above wait 12 hours in England’s A&Es each yeartheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
88. Nurses fainting in ‘inhumane’ conditions due to extreme heat, union warnstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
89. Catholic Medical Association statement on new Assisted Suicide Billindcatholicnews.com · 17 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

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• Falls can have a significant impact on an older person’s confidence and independenceWigan Today

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.rcn.org.uk/About-us/Our-governance/How-we-work/Our-structure/RCN-Executive-Team
• Press office emailMediaTeamHQ@rcn.org.ukpublished here ↗
• Websitehttps://www.rcn.org.uk/About-us/Press-office

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