Government committed to ‘strengthening’ community nursing workforce

The government has highlighted the ‘essential role’ of district nurses and wider community nursing teams as it sets out its commitment to strengthen the workforce amid rising demand.

It comes as the Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing (QICN) and the minister of state for Health, Karin Smyth, are set to meet in the new year.

This week, responding to a parliamentary question on the ‘gaps’ in community nursing services, care minister Stephen Kinnock said the highly anticipated 10-year NHS workforce plan and incoming Professional Strategy for Nursing and Midwifery would help ‘ensure we have the workforce with the right skills to meet population need’.

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‘The government recognises the essential role of district nurses and wider community nursing teams in delivering high-quality care closer to home, preventing avoidable hospital admissions, and supporting people to live well in their communities,’ said Mr Kinnock.

‘We are committed to strengthening the community nursing workforce and ensuring services are equipped to meet rising demand and increasing clinical complexity.’

He stressed that the government was working with NHS England, the QICN, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and other professional organisations to implement the promises of the 10-year plan to ‘deliver more care outside hospital and build neighbourhood teams’.

The minister was asked if the government had met with the QICN to discuss community nursing workforce concerns.

‘We welcome the Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing’s continued engagement in informing planning and solutions to address capacity gaps, following our 10 Year Workforce Plan call for evidence,’ he responded.

‘The minister of state for health is planning to meet the QICN.’

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QICN chief executive Steph Lawrence told Nursing in Practice that a meeting with government was planned for January.

‘The QICN welcomes the positive messages about community nursing and the planned meeting in January with the minister will be an opportunity to further highlight the issues,’ she said.

Ms Lawrence said she was leading a working group to determine ‘solutions’ to the problems faced within community nursing services and to ‘ensure we truly understand the extent of the capacity gap’.

Several concerns have been raised around the district nursing and wider community nursing workforce over recent months, with the Care Quality Commission issuing a warning over nurse shortages in its annual report.

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Last week, politicians in Wales debated how shortages in community nursing are fuelling hospital overcrowding and forcing treatment into unsafe corridor spaces.

Earlier this year, findings from the Nuffield Trust revealed that the number of district nurses working in the NHS in England had fallen by 43% between 2009 and 2024.