Spotlighting ‘How Nurses Count’ on International Nurses Day

General practice nurses (GPNs) have spotlighted ‘how they count’ – from holistic patient care, managing complex conditions and reducing pressure on GPs – ahead of International Nurses Day (IND).

Nursing in Practice asked GPNs to share the reasons why they count as part of our ongoing How Nurses Count campaign.

The campaign aims to champion nursing expertise and innovation and – through interviews with those across the profession – collate a bank of evidence on the safety-critical and pioneering work undertaken by nurses outside hospital settings.

This year’s IND, celebrated annually on 12 May on Florence Nightingale’s birthday, focuses on empowering the nursing workforce to help ‘maximise their full-saving impact’. The strapline for this year, set by the International Council of Nurses (ICN), is: ‘Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives.’

The ICN hopes the message will empower nurses with ‘safe, fair work environments and full nursing practice, influence and leadership’.

In line with this year’s theme of nurse empowerment, Nursing in Practice asked GPNs to spotlight their roles and how they count.

‘I support nearly 150 patients a week to manage complex chronic conditions’

Several GPNs said their role is the ‘heart’ of patient care and the ‘backbone’ of general practice, highlighting their variety of skills.

‘As a practice nurse I am at the heart of patient care,’ one GPN said. ‘I support nearly 150 people every week to manage complex chronic conditions and improve their quality of life.

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‘I don’t just deliver care, I am building trusting relationships, empowering patients to take control of their health, and provide continuity that makes a real difference.

‘Alongside this, I contribute to training staff and developing policies that strengthen our whole practice. Patients actively ask to see me because they know I listen, I care, and I make a difference.

‘My role helps prevent complications, reduce pressure on GPs, and ensures patients receive safe, effective, and compassionate care every single day.’

Another GPN added: ‘Nurses are the backbone of the NHS, we are the connection and supporter of excellent patient care – nurses count, we cannot be diluted or replaced.’

Nurses also commented that they look at patients holistically – vital for overall patient care.

One GPN said: ‘Nurses oversee the broad picture when it comes to patient care. We have more time than the GPs to spend finding out what matters to the patient and how we can support that.

‘We are also extremely highly skilled “expert generalists” with a very wide range of skills and knowledge to apply in many different patient situations.

‘When used right, we can be incredibly supportive to the GPs and the wider practice team.

‘Nurses are key in the whole preventative care picture through our huge role in health promotion and lifestyle counselling.’

‘Without nurses the healthcare system would collapse’

Another practice nurse added: ‘We have a unique role in caring for patients holistically, we are grafters and we love to serve patients as best as we can.’

‘Nurses underpin healthcare at every level and in every setting,’ added another GPN. ‘We are holistic by nature and with that are always patient centred.

‘We facilitate every step of life, from cradle to grave. Without nurses the healthcare system would collapse.’

‘Nurses in general practice must no longer be left behind’

Writing in a foreword for Nursing in Practice’s recent report – General practice nurse pay: A salary survey of the profession 2026 – executive director of the Royal College of Nursing, Patrica Marquis, said that general practice remains ‘the absolute bedrock of health and care’, with nursing staff ‘central to its success’.

‘The fact is that without nursing staff, primary care services simply would not function,’ she said.

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Our GPN pay report revealed that as many as one in three nurses in general practice are looking to leave their role in the next 12 months, largely because of pay concerns and because they feel undervalued. Key findings from the report also included that nurses working in general practice are earning thousands of pounds less than those in secondary care on Agenda for Change terms and that a third of GPNs went without a pay rise for 2025/26.

Ms Marquis continued: ‘Nursing staff are a constant presence in every general practice operation, but they continue to be left behind when it comes to pay.

‘Even when the government says they are entitled to a pay rise, too many are left without any increase at all, while the cost of living continues to increase.’

Some GPNs shared Ms Marquis’ concerns and reported feeling ‘undervalued’ and not paid their worth despite their wide variety of skills and high levels of patient care.

One GPN said they ‘love’ their role but feel ‘taken for granted’.

They said: ‘I am currently overworked and underpaid. I am a committed and aspirational individual, and I feel this has been taken for granted and used to fuel a business that values money over patient care.’

A nurse team lead added that the varying of benefits compared with NHS colleagues on AfC contracts is ‘worrying’.

‘I like to be busy but sometimes the workload is ridiculous and you find yourself in a battle with productivity versus patient care,’ they added.

Another nurse said: ‘Practice nurses are underpaid and undervalued. Luckily, I work with a supportive team and we support each other. We do matter, we care, and we deliver.’

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