Liberal Democrats set out nurse workforce plans in manifesto

Today, the Liberal Democrats unveiled their 116-page manifesto, which has put forward £8bn for health and care services in England.

“We are putting forward a bold, ambitious and fully-costed plan to tackle the health and care crisis from top to bottom”

Ed Davey

Central to the manifesto are pledges to reform health and care across the country, including promises to recruit and retain more nurses.

Health leaders have welcomed the commitments from the Liberal Democrats but have warned that the costs put forward to solve the crisis in health and care still fall too short.

The party has promised to fund the manifesto by reversing cuts to bank taxes and closing tax loopholes “exploited by the super-wealthy”.

At the launch of the Liberal Democrats manifesto, party leader Ed Davey said: “After years of Conservative chaos and neglect, the scale of the challenge is enormous.

“So our manifesto doesn’t shy away from that.

“We are putting forward a bold, ambitious and fully-costed plan to tackle the health and care crisis from top to bottom.

“This is a manifesto to save the NHS.”

Nursing Times has broken down some of the key pledges relevant to nursing.

Training, recruiting and retaining NHS staff

The manifesto has outlined several pledges related to NHS pay and terms and conditions, to try and boost recruitment and retention of nurses and other staff.

For example, the Liberal Democrats have promised to establish a “properly independent pay review body”.

It comes as some unions representing nurses have boycotted the NHS Pay Review Body process, amid concerns about its independence from the government.

Meanwhile, the manifesto has also pledged to publish a 10-year retention plan and to make flexible working a “day-one right” for NHS staff.

In addition, it said that the Liberal Democrats would end the “false economy” of spending money on agency workers and instead encourage the use of flexible staff banks.

Under a Liberal Democrat government, NHS and care staff would also be made exempt from the £1,000 a year immigration skills charge and recent bans on care workers bringing partners and children would be reversed.

Fixing the crisis in GP and ambulance services

The manifesto has pledged to end “excessive handover delays” for ambulances by increasing the number of staffed hospital beds, which would also help to stop “degrading corridor care”.

It has also promised to give everyone the right to see a GP or the most appropriate practice staff member within seven days, or with 24 hours if it is urgent.

The party said it would do this by freeing up GPs’ time, by giving more prescribing rights and public health advisory services to qualified nurse practitioners, pharmacists and paramedics.

Boosting cancer survival rates

Last year, Mr Davey set out priorities that would feature in the party’s election campaign, which included a legal right for cancer patients to start treatment within two months of an urgent referral.

Today, the Liberal Democrats reaffirmed that commitment, and have also promised to recruit more cancer nurses so that every patient has a dedicated specialist supporting them throughout their treatment.

Improving early access to mental health services

The manifesto has pledged to open walk-in hubs for children and young people in every community, as well as offering regular mental health check-ups at key points in people’s lives.

In addition, it has committed to putting a “dedicated, qualified mental health professional in every school”. The party has not yet given details about whether nurses will be part of this.

Meanwhile, the party has promised to “transform” perinatal mental health support for those who are pregnant, new mothers and those who have experienced miscarriage or still birth.

It comes as an inquiry last month revealed a postcode lottery in perinatal care in England, and called for universal access to specialist maternal mental health services.

Fixing the crisis in social care

The Liberal Democrats have pledged to invest in social care services, to reduce demand on the NHS.

As part of this, the party has promised to recruit more staff into the sector by creating a social care workforce plan, much like the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan published last year.

It has also said it will make careers in social care more attractive, by creating clear career pathways in the sector, linked to recommended pay scales, to “put an end to the undervaluing of skills in the sector”.

A career ladder to allow flexibility to work across the NHS and social care has also been put forward as a way to retain staff across both sectors.

Reactions from the sector

The Royal College of Nursing’s acting general secretary and chief executive, Professor Nicola Ranger, said nursing staff would be “pleased” to see the national emergency in hospitals and crisis in social care recognised in the Liberal Democrats manifesto.

She added: “Improving access to [out-of-hospital services] is the right commitment, but the sums offered fall far short.

“Any meaningful expansion will require more than the £8bn extra promised each year.

Nicola Ranger

“Overstretched nursing staff need reassuring that they are not being asked to do even more with less.”

Professor Ranger welcomed the pledges for social care, as well as the commitment to scrap the “hostile immigration policy” that the current government implemented.

While she noted the proposals for a new independent pay review body, Professor Ranger warned that nursing staff were still waiting for the 2024-25 pay rise, which was due in April.

“Political parties should not shy away from doing the right thing now and it is disappointing to see no firm commitment,” she added.

Meanwhile, Nuffield Trust chief executive, Thea Stein, said the manifesto measures were “ambitious” but that the funding proposed was “insufficient”.

“The real sting in the tail of this manifesto is that the sums to support these worthwhile aspirations simply don’t add up,” she explained.

“It’s unclear from the costings document exactly what the £8.35bn pledged to cover the NHS and care pledges is based on.”

Separately, the chief executive of NHS Providers, Sir Julian Hartley, said the Liberal Democrats had “highlighted the important links between the NHS and social care”.

He added: “Hospital, mental health, community and ambulance trusts have a vital role to play in joined-up action with government to create a healthy, equitable and productive society for years to come.

“The next government and an NHS fit for the future must work hand in hand to create the picture of health we all want to see.”