Marie Curie comments on today’s Interim NHS People Plan

Commenting on today's Interim NHS People Plan, Simon Jones, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, at the terminal illness charity Marie Curie said:

“Sadly, for patients and the wellbeing of staff in the NHS, this plan  does not go far enough. It doesn’t fully recognise the contribution made by nurses and other healthcare professionals in the voluntary sector – almost all of who will have been trained by and worked in the NHS.

“The five year plan must reassess its ambition. It must reach higher. It must meet the needs of the NHS and its partners who provide vital care in the voluntary sector, often to the country’s most vulnerable people. Without this, how would the hospice sector begin to care for people at the end of their lives, against a backdrop of an ageing population and fewer nurses?

“We recently surveyed nurses across the UK and two thirds told us that staffing shortages are the main barrier to providing good care to dying patients. The cracks in the system are already punishing the people who need care the most. To fix this, the full plan must engage the voluntary sector to meet the actual recruitment need in the country. There is no quick fix.”