Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth has said that community nursing will face a ‘crisis’ without further investment, in an exclusive interview with Nursing in Practice’s sister publication Pulse.
Mr Ashworth warned that there is also likely to be a ‘huge retirement rate in practice nursing in the next few years’ without ‘more investment in the primary care workforce’.
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The Labour MP from Leicester South said that there must also be further investment in the public health workforce, including health visitors and school nurses.
He told Pulse: ‘The team of NHS staff working in the community are absolutely vital in keeping people well, which should impact on general practice pressures.’
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If elected, Labour announced yesterday that it would invest £1 billion in restoring the training bursary for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals in England follow its removal in 2017.
The pledge forms part of a £26 billion ‘rescue plan’ for the NHS promised by Labour, which would see an annual spending boost of 4.3% over the next four years.
Labour would also recruit an extra 4,800 health visitors and school nurses, and invest £35 million a year in improving vaccination uptake.
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Last month, the Institute of Health Visiting revealed that the number of health visitors has fallen from 10,309 to 7,026 since 2015, representing a 31.8% drop.
