The Royal College of Nursing has launched a UK-wide campaign

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Letter to Branches




No. 188 /11
Ref P24
Date: 25 February 2011

To: All Branches


Dear Colleagues

The Royal College of Nursing has launched a UK-wide campaign, "Frontline First" as TUC Warn that more than 50,000 NHS jobs come under threat:

Trades Union Congress (TUC)-backed organisation "False Economy has found that the Coalition Government's total confirmed, planned and potential job cuts across the NHS will top 50,000 over the next five years, almost double previous estimates, following a detailed investigation, gathering data through Freedom of Information requests from NHS trusts with the job cuts including doctors, dentists, and nurses. The planned job cuts come as NHS trusts scramble to make £20bn efficiency savings demanded by the Government. Campaign groups such as the Royal College of Nursing's (RCN) "Frontline First Campaign" are warning that the cuts, which trusts say will mainly come through natural wastage, will still inevitably hit patient care – but the Government accused the unions of "scaremongering". In November last, the RCN had identified 27,000 NHS posts across the UK have been earmarked to be cut. RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary Dr Peter Carter was interviewed on Sky News on the figures and said “What we want to see is clear, intelligent service redesign... Cutting posts here and there is no way to take forward the nation’s healthcare system.” 

Frontline First will empower nursing staff to speak out against the NHS cuts that are harming patient care, expose where they see waste in the system and champion nurse-led innovations and ideas that are saving money whilst keeping patients safe.

The RCN has confirmed that despite the rhetoric from politicians about protecting our health service, we all know that the NHS is going to have to save money, now and into the future. Increasing pressure on health board budgets, from spiralling drug costs and rising demand on services, for example, means that the funding health boards receive is not even going to be enough to cover their costs this year. Across the UK, the NHS is facing similar pressures. As Trusts and health boards look at ways to cut costs to balance their books nursing and other specialist nursing posts are already under threat. That’s why the RCN has launched 'Frontline First' a  campaign to build a holistic picture of what’s going on across the country and to monitor the impact of cost-cutting measures on staff and patients. The campaign will enable RCN members, to tell the RCN where services are being cut and to share innovative ideas with RCN.HQ, telling them what's happening on the ground regarding the cuts that are being made in local areas and how they’re affecting Nurses, Doctors and patients. The information collected will also involve where there’s waste in the system and where money could be saved.

The CWU health, Safety & Environment Department has sent a message of support to the RCN along with the several healthcare charities we work with in our campaigns for changes and campaigns on awareness raising and information provision and sharing.

All of us, CWU Members and their families, will at some stage in our lives, rely on the NHS whether for medical screening, diagnosis, illness, emergencies like heart attack or stroke, accidents at work, road traffic collisions, dog attacks etc. It is an essential public service that we all cherish. Therefore this governments plans around Cuts and Privatisation of Service. These are worrying signs. The NHS workforce is vulnerable and could reduce significantly in a relatively short period of time. We absolutely cannot take for granted or be complacent about the NHS and its workforce. We know the pressures that the health budget faces from an ageing population, increased drugs costs and improved technology. So it would be totally wrong for the government to cut the budget. They should protect it.

RCN "Frontline First" Website: http://frontlinefirst.rcn.org.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;




Yours Sincerely


Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer