This is the last article you can read this month
You can read more article this month
You can read more articles this month
Sorry your limit is up for this month
Reset on:
Please help support the Morning Star by subscribing here
HEALTH union Unison demanded a nationwide scheme yesterday to open up more training places for nurses and ensure healthcare can be properly delivered at home.
It was responding to the “disgrace” highlighted in new figures showing the number of district nurses providing this vital service had been almost cut in half in the past 10 years.
“Slashing the number of district nurses needed to care for the elderly and people with long-term health conditions in their home is a false economy that is storing up problems for future generations,” said Unison head of health Christina McAnea.
“Without providing decent medical support for the growing elderly population, for patients with long-term medical conditions and those just leaving hospital after surgery, we see ping-pong readmissions to hospital.”
Unison said a programme for more district nurse training places would undo some of the coalition government’s cuts, which the union argues are responsible for the plummeting number of posts.