League tables will not address crisis in nursing or NHS, says Royal College of Nursing

Responding to the health secretary's plans to introduce league tables for NHS trusts, Executive Director of RCN England Patricia Marquis said:

"To raise standards, the health secretary needs to fill tens of thousands of nurse vacancies. Employers want to see a workforce plan for hiring people, when too many are quitting and student nurse numbers are falling.

“We should not be tolerating poor management but scapegoating trust leaders for underinvestment and systemic failures is not the solution. NHS staff must not be pitted against one another. Tables and rankings without addressing root causes could undermine public confidence. Government must start by addressing high levels of nursing vacancies that continue to put patient care at risk.

“Nurses want government and the NHS to be transparent though on the real numbers of patients lining corridors right now - the figures should be released this winter to eradicate the dangerous practice. Meanwhile, this country is named and shamed in global rankings on nursing pay and staffing levels, and that should force government action."