Experts warned over unsafe staffing levels.
A top nurse has warned the Government should “not to sail too close to the wind” when it comes to announcing a pay deal and hinted that the situation could escalate if the profession is left “ailing and underpaid”.
At its annual congress in Liverpool, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger will call on ministers to “stop the dither and delay”.
She also warned that staffing levels are “dreadfully unsafe” and urged nurses not to accept corridor care as “the norm”.
The call from Prof Ranger, which will be made in a keynote speech to delegates on Monday, comes weeks after the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) recommended a pay rise of about 3% for nurses for the year 2025-26.
She said she will not tell nurses to strike, but warned the situation could escalate.
“In the NHS, your pay award was due six weeks ago,” Prof Ranger is expected to say.
“Government should stop the dither and delay and make the announcements.
“It has now been a whole month since the Pay Review Body gave its report and recommendations to Government but still no news.
“We need a significant pay rise for nursing and for every NHS employer to be given the full money to pay it – anything else is a cut to patient services.
“I’m not here to tell you we’re going on strike. You will decide how you feel and we will plan together the best way to get what nursing needs.
“But I ask ministers not to sail close to the wind. If you continue to insult this profession, leave it ailing and underpaid this summer then you know how this could escalate.”
Nurses staged unprecedented industrial action over pay in 2022 and 2023.
Elsewhere, Prof Ranger will use her speech to warn over unsafe staffing levels and corridor care.
It comes after a damning report by the RCN, published in January, claimed patients are dying in corridors and sometimes going undiscovered for hours.
“Right now, staffing levels are dreadfully unsafe,” Prof Ranger will say.
“One registered nurse to 15 to 20 patients. One nurse told me she was the only person left in charge of 40. It’s taking advantage of your goodwill and you take home guilt when you’ve not been able to deliver high quality care.
“Safety is not an optional extra – it should be the standard. Caring for patients in corridors is not ‘the norm’ and we have to be clear we do not accept it.
“These tough times require political leaders that are tougher and reach for the big ideas, not modest tinkering. Nursing needs investment, recognition and to be valued.”
A survey of more than 2,000 people aged 16 to 18 carried out by YouGov on behalf of the RCN found more than nine in 10 think nursing as the joint highest value to society, alongside doctors.
However, some 88% said they would not consider it as a career, with more than half (52%) citing low wages as a reason.
Data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show the number of applicants to nursing courses at UK universities has fallen by 34% since 2021.
Prof Ranger added: “Young people can see the value nursing has to society and they have passion for care and public service.
“But low pay and the prospect of working in underfunded services mean so few consider it a career for them.
“Gen Z are the future of our profession and key to transforming health and care for decades to come. Unlocking their talent and potential must become an urgent priority for every government.
“Without enough young people, the ‘ticking time bomb’ of large-scale retirement will remain.
“That must mean stronger financial incentives to study nursing and better starting salaries for new recruits, underpinned by modern campaigns that reach young people where they are, on social media, in schools and colleges.”
A Government spokesperson said: “This Government inherited a broken NHS with an overworked, undervalued and demoralised workforce.
“We hugely value the work of talented nurses and midwives, and through our plan for change we are rebuilding the NHS for the benefit of patient and staff, and ensuring nursing remains an attractive career choice.
“One of the first acts of this Government was to award nurses an above-inflation pay rise for the first time in years, because we recognise that their pay has been hit over previous years.
“We are carefully considering the recommendations from the NHS pay review body and will update as soon as possible.”
