The UK’s leading nursing union is demanding the Government provides a support package to help tackle “rapidly deteriorating” recruitment numbers.
With the upcoming March Budget announcement merely a few weeks away now, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has penned a hard-hitting letter to Health Secretary Victoria Atkins calling for “urgent action” to address what it claims has been a significantly “large fall” in applicants to nursing degree courses in England.
The RCN says the Government “must” introduce an emergency package of measures to support nurse recruitment in the next Budget on 6 March.
The union‘s calls comes after new official figures from UCAS were released yesterday (15 February), which show a further sharp drop in applicants to nursing courses for the next academic year, all despite the Government’s Long Term Workforce Plan for the NHS.
New UCAS data shows a 26% collapse in the number of applicants to study nursing in England in just two years, a deeply concerning trend.
We've written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to demand immediate action, read more ⬇️ https://t.co/6b62QO1aPz
The UCAS figures revealed there were just 24,680 nursing applicants to education providers in England this year, compared to 27,370 applicants in 2023, and 33,410 in 2022 – which represents a 10% fall in the last year, and a 26% fall in the last two years, according to the RCN.
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Because of these declining application numbers, the Union is now warning that it leaves the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan “in danger of falling off course”.
It also poses “a direct threat to the sustainability of the NHS and patient safety”, the RCN claims.
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The RCN says the fall in recruitment is underlined by a collapse in the number of mature students from the UK applying for nursing degrees offered by education providers in England, with this number having fallen by 11% in just one year, and has continued to trend downwards by falling from 18,980 in 2021, to 11,190 in 2024.
The RCN is demanding Government support to tackle ‘rapidly deteriorating’ recruitment numbers / Credit: RCN
“Historically, many have chosen nursing as a second career,” the RCN explained in its letter to the Government urging support measures.
RCN’s General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said she is “deeply concerned” about the “rapidly deteriorating state of nurse recruitment” in her letter to the Health Secretary this week, and added that a failure to address these “critical issues” will eventually leave the health care system “dangerously understaffed” and “unable to meet the growing demands of patients”.
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Ms Cullen continued in her letter: “These latest figures expose a widening gap between the aspirations of the plan and the level of political effort required to make them a reality.
A 10% drop in nursing degree applications in England threatens patient safety, and risks making the NHS workforce plan unattainable.
“This needs immediate intervention and corrective action to protect patients now and in the future.
“A decline in applicants risks causing a cascading effect, with fewer students accepted onto nursing courses leading to diminished course cohorts and eventually lower numbers graduating and becoming registered nurses, so the UK Government must recognise the severity of this emergency.
“Immediate action must be taken to prevent further decline in nursing recruitment.
“We believe the current situation poses a direct threat to the sustainability of the NHS and patient safety, considering the existing 10.3% vacancy rate in nursing positions within the NHS in England.”
Featured Image – gov.uk
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Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Day 2024
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Day is back for 2024 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 27 July, and as always, it’s set to be “the day summer officially starts” in the city centre – with a massive celebration of “all things Mancunian” on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is ‘Let The Games Begin’, and it’s inspired by the international summer of sport, just 2024 Olympics kicks off over in Paris.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Some city centre roads will be closed on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July for Manchester Day.
These will include:
🛣️Deansgate 🛣️St Ann Street 🛣️St Mary’s Gate 🛣️Market Street 🛣️King Street
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 21, 2024
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Manchester Day is back for 2024 to celebrate the international summer of sport / Credit: Manchester City Council
Manchester Day 2024 – Road Closures
Saturday 27 July
From 6am to 11:59pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street) – access will be maintained to Marks and Spencer’s car park and Number One Deansgate.
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street (Cross Street to Deansgate) – no access for deliveries.
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 6pm on Friday 26 July to 11:59pm on Saturday 27 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street – including the bays outside St Ann’s Church (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Southgate (St Mary’s Street to King Street West)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Victoria Street (Cathedral Approach to Deansgate)
Todd Street (Corporation Street to Station Approach)
King Street (Spring Gardens to Southgate)
South King Street (Ridgefield to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street West (Deansgate to St Mary’s Parsonage)
St James’s Square (John Dalton Street to South King Street)
Cross Street (King Street to Corporation Street)
Museum Street (Peter Street to Windmill Street)
Marsden Street (Cheapside to Brown Street)
Manchester Day 2024: Let The Games Begin! will take over the city centre on Saturday 27 July from 12pm-6pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete
Emily Sergeant
Work currently underway on the Rochdale via Oldham line is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has now “slowed”, and this means that detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works have been able to get underway.
In order for trams to run again on the crucial line from the city centre to the two major Greater Manchester towns, TfGM says that a small section of track has to be moved back – also known as ‘slewed’ – into its original position.
The overhead line poles also need to be repaired too, the transport operator revealed.
Rochdale line update
Land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has slowed, enabling detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works to get underway.
To get trams running again, a small section of track has to be moved back into its original position… pic.twitter.com/byERjitdi1
Unfortunately though, due to the “complex” nature of these works, and despite the fact that TfGM says it’s actively looking to “accelerate” the repairs, the project is expected to take up to five weeks to complete in full.
On top of this, the detailed ground investigations will also establish whether any further work to strengthen foundations beneath the track will be needed at a later date.
TfGM has apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete / Credit: TfGM
Speaking on the scale of works currently underway, and how long he expects them to continue for, Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “I’m sorry for the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on people’s journeys.
“We are working to get trams running through the area again, but this remains a complex and challenging issue and it could still be a few weeks before this happens.
“We will of course keep passengers updated, and I’d encourage people to check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”