Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Community and District Nurses

Tuesday 5 March 2024 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Record funding is going into the NHS
  • 9 percent increase in community nursing since 2019
  • Investing over 2.4 billion in education and training for district nurses

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Neale Hanvey
NHS
Context

There has been growing concern over the recruitment and retention of community and district nurses, with significant declines in numbers. Community nursing has seen a 40% drop in district nurses, and health visitor numbers have fallen by almost a third.

Question

What steps she plans to take to improve the recruitment and retention of community and district nurses, given the crisis brewing over the past decade?

Answer from Andrew Stephenson

Record funding is going into our NHS. In addition to the 9% increase in community nursing since 2019, we are investing over £2.4 billion in education and training through the NHS long term workforce plan, which commits to increasing training places for district nurses by 41% by the end of the decade.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The questioner sought guarantees on support despite funding shortfalls, but the answer did not address these specific concerns.

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Q2 Neale Hanvey
NHS
Context

There has been a crisis brewing in community-facing nursing over the past decade, with the number of district nurses down by 40% and health visitor numbers in England and Wales falling by almost a third. NHS funding faces a £2 billion black hole.

Question

What guarantees will the Minister provide that this vital workforce will be supported, when health budgets in all the nations of the UK are under increasing strain and NHS funding faces a £2 billion black hole?

Answer from Andrew Stephenson

Record funding is going into our NHS. In addition to the 9% increase in community nursing since 2019, we are investing over £2.4 billion in education and training through the NHS long term workforce plan, which commits to increasing training places for district nurses by 41% by the end of the decade.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The questioner sought guarantees on support despite funding shortfalls, but the answer did not address these specific concerns.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)