October 2019
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is warning that the lack of watertight legal responsibilities for the supply and planning of the health and care workforce is fuelling the staffing crisis. NHS figures show that there are now a record 43,617 empty nursing posts in the NHS in England alone, a figure compounded by a global shortage of nurses and the removal of the nursing bursary. In the NHS in England, 12% of posts are now without a full time Registered Nurse.