Posted 05 July 2023 - 05:00
Posted 05 July 2023 - 05:00
News
NHS 75: vital role of nurses since the birth of the health service
As the NHS celebrates its 75th birthday today it faces an urgent need for more nurses – a need that has remained consistent since it was created
As the NHS celebrates its 75th birthday today it faces an urgent need for more nurses – a need that has remained consistent since it was created
As the NHS celebrates its 75th anniversary today one theme has remained consistent since its birth – the need for more nurses in the health service.
When the new National Health Service was launched with celebrations on 5 July 1948 there was a call for 30,000 more nurses.
Everyone across the country was encouraged to sign up to the NHS, but questions were raised about how hospital beds could be used without enough staff.
John Edwards, then parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Health, said in 1948: ‘No miracle will happen when the new health services start on 5 July.
‘There are many out-of-date buildings and shortages in equipment and staff, and there will be 60,000 beds which it will be impossible to use because there are not enough nurses.
‘But the fact that perfection cannot be attained at once is no reason for delaying the new service, the nature of which will depend very much on the people who work in it.’
Touring van handed out nurse application forms and displayed latest medical gadgets
In an attempt to recruit nurses a publicity van toured northern England, handing out application forms and showing off the latest medical gadgets.
Another travelling exhibit was set up at the Three Counties’ Agricultural Show in Gloucester.
Alongside domestic recruitment, in June 1948 – one month before the launch of the NHS – the passenger liner HMT Windrush Empire docked in Tilbury bringing workers from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean islands to help tackle Britain’s postwar labour shortages.
Those arriving from the Caribbean from 1948 to 1971 – including many nurses – have been vital to the survival of the NHS.
While much has changed in the NHS since its launch, the vital role of both domestic and international nurses has remained consistent.
Highest ever new joiners on NMC register, but thousands of nurses are leaving the profession prematurely
Now, the number of nurses registered to work in the UK is at its highest ever level, with the latest Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) data showing 52,148 new joiners in the year to March 2023, of which 25,006 were internationally educated.
The NMC said the number of new joiners is the highest since its register was introduced in 2002, but issued a stark warning about the thousands of nurses leaving the profession prematurely.
There remain more than 40,000 nursing vacancies in England’s NHS alone. The government has been widely criticised for being overly reliant on international recruitment from poorer nations to fill these gaps.
Poor pay and working conditions led nurses to vote for historic strike action in 2022, with walkouts taking place over the past six months.
The RCN has warned that without fairer pay and working conditions the NHS will continue to lose skilled professionals and fail to attract new nurses.
The government has sought to quell workforce concerns with the NHS workforce plan announced last week, setting out ambitious plans to recruit 190,000 nurses in the next 15 years. But the plan has been criticised for failing to address recruitment and retention issues.
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