Latest news with #RCNWales
Pembrokeshire Herald
13-05-2025
- Health
- Pembrokeshire Herald
RCN calls for urgent investment in mental health nursing as A&E crisis deepens
Patients in crisis waiting days for care as frontline nurses sound the alarm THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING is calling for urgent and sustained investment in the mental health nursing workforce after a UK-wide Freedom of Information (FOI) investigation revealed a sharp rise in the number of people attending emergency departments in mental health crisis. The findings, published today (May 13), come just days after the Welsh Government released its long-awaited Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy – a document the RCN warns must now be matched with meaningful action and funding. The FOI responses show a growing number of mental health patients waiting over 12 hours in A&E for appropriate support. Some patients have been forced to wait for up to three days in distress, often without access to specialist care. In Wales, the RCN says nursing staff are reporting dangerous and inhumane conditions. These include instances of vulnerable patients being monitored by security guards instead of qualified professionals, patients attempting suicide while awaiting treatment, and individuals leaving without receiving any care. Last month, RCN Wales joined BMA Cymru Wales in launching a petition calling on the Welsh Government to end the use of corridor care in hospitals and guarantee patients are treated with dignity and safety. RCN Wales warns that chronic underfunding of community mental health services, along with cuts to mental health beds, is placing unsustainable pressure on emergency departments. Without significant investment in specialist community nursing, the college says patients in crisis will continue to be funnelled into emergency departments that are unequipped to meet their needs. Speaking at the RCN's annual Congress in Liverpool next week, General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger is expected to call for 'urgent, massive and sustained investment in community mental health nursing'. She will also condemn the ongoing cuts to mental health beds as short-sighted and dangerous. The RCN is demanding: Improved access to education and training – NHS staff must be supported to access the professional development required for modern, safe care. – NHS staff must be supported to access the professional development required for modern, safe care. Capital investment in residential care – Many NHS mental health facilities are outdated and in disrepair. Patients deserve safe and therapeutic environments. – Many NHS mental health facilities are outdated and in disrepair. Patients deserve safe and therapeutic environments. Expansion of nurse staffing legislation – Section 25B of the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act should urgently be extended to mental health inpatient services. Helen Whyley, Director of RCN Wales, said: 'This report is a wake-up call. It is unacceptable that people in mental health crisis are being left for hours – sometimes days – in emergency departments that cannot meet their needs. The Welsh Government says mental health is a priority, but without real investment in mental health nursing, that promise is meaningless. We need urgent action to recruit, retain, and properly resource specialist nurses in our communities. Mental health patients deserve dignity, expertise and timely care – not queues, delays and despair.'
South Wales Argus
30-04-2025
- Health
- South Wales Argus
RCN and BMA in Wales launch petition to end corridor care
The petition, launched on April 29, calls for immediate action from the Welsh Government to stop the practice of treating patients in corridors, chairs, and other inappropriate areas. The unions are urging the public to sign the petition, as they believe this practice puts patients at risk of significant harm. The petition was prompted by numerous reports from doctors and nurses about the negative impact of corridor care. Helen Whyley, executive director of RCN Wales, said: "We are beyond breaking point. "I have travelled across Wales and witnessed people in pain, confused and frightened, with no privacy, no dignity, and no proper care environment. "Corridor care is unsafe, undignified, and unacceptable." Stephen Kelly, chair of the BMA's Welsh Consultants Committee, said: "When a patient is not placed in a bed space there's a chance something vital may be missed, there's no access to monitoring equipment and no privacy to carry out certain procedures. "This is dangerous and is putting patients' lives at risk." The unions hope the petition will prompt action from the Welsh Government.
