Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has met with the Chief Executive of the Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing to discuss the potential impact of gaps in community nursing services on levels of patient safety.

We welcome the Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing’s (QICN’s) continued engagement in informing planning and solutions to address capacity gaps, following our 10 Year Workforce Plan call for evidence. The Minister of State for Health is planning to meet the QICN.

The Government recognises the essential role of district nurses and wider community nursing teams in delivering high-quality care closer to home, preventing avoidable hospital admissions, and supporting people to live well in their communities. We are committed to strengthening the community nursing workforce and ensuring services are equipped to meet rising demand and increasing clinical complexity.

The Government is working with NHS England and professional organisations, including the QICN and the Royal College of Nursing, as we implement the ambition of the 10-year plan to deliver more care outside hospital and build neighbourhood teams. The 10 Year Workforce Plan and the Professional Strategy for Nursing and Midwifery will set out how we will build the multi-professional teams we need to deliver that ambition and ensure we have the workforce with the right skills to meet population need.