House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Community and District Nurses: Recruitment and Retention

Tuesday 23 April 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 1 Not answered 0

Key points

Minister committed to delivering 50,000 more nurses in the NHS since September 2019.
Over 68,800 full-time equivalent community nurses are working in England as of January 2024.
Vacancy rates for registered nursing posts in Scotland are 8.5% for community nurses and 6.6% for district nurses.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Kenny MacAskill

NHS

Context

The question arises from the need to address the shortage of community and district nurses in healthcare.

Question

What steps she is taking to support the recruitment and retention of community and district nurses. As the situation is worse in England compared to Scotland, there's a concern about addressing bed blocking and improving care in communities.

Answer from Andrew Stephenson

In September 2023, we met our commitment to deliver 50,000 more nurses working in the NHS compared with September 2019. There are over 68,800 full-time equivalent community nurses across England as of January 2024, which is an increase from last year. The NHS long-term workforce plan aims to increase training places for district nurses by 150%, to nearly 1,800, and commits to improving retention in the NHS.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The questioner asked about the situation being worse in England compared to Scotland and addressing bed blocking. The answer did not directly address these issues.

How: Crow And Criticise As Their Health System Declines

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Q2 Kenny MacAskill

NHS Scotland

Context

The question arises from the high vacancy rates of registered nursing posts and district nurses in Scotland, which are worse than those in England. This affects care delivery and contributes to bed blocking issues.

Question

In Scotland, the vacancy rate for registered nursing posts in the community is 8.5%, and for registered district nurses it is 6.6%—in England, the situation is actually worse in most parts. However, these posts are fundamental to care delivery and addressing bed blocking. With overall funding dictated by the block grant and Barnett consequentials, is it not time that the Department stood up for the NHS? When there is money for weapons abroad, why can we not provide care at home?

Answer from Andrew Stephenson

We hear from Opposition Members who love nothing more than to crow and criticise as their health system declines around them, despite record funding from the UK Government. Scotland has, sadly, some of the worst health outcomes in the western world. Earlier this year, when the UK Government stepped in to offer support, the SNP Health Minister rejected the offer.

Not addressed: The questioner asked about funding for community nursing and addressing bed blocking issues in Scotland. The answer did not address these points but instead criticized the Scottish health system's decline.