Monday at Congress

The Royal College of Nursing congress continues today and continues to make headlines. Our story outlining potential losses of more than 60000 NHS posts has received widespread coverage across print, online and broadcast media.  An RCN survey found that community services were struggling to meet the demands placed on them, rendering plans to move care from acute hospitals to the community were a "facade”.

This was the lead story on BBC Breakfast and ITV Daybreak, and a number of RCN spokespeople were interviewed on the subject, including Dr Peter Carter on the flagship Today programme on BBC Radio 4. The story also appeared in The Guardian, Independent, i, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mirror, Sun, Daily Star, and The Times.

Dr Peter Carter is quoted as saying: “Nurses are being stretched too thin, and many are approaching breaking point. Inevitably, patient care is going to suffer.”

There has also been a lot of coverage this afternoon of the Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley’s speech and Q and A at Congress. As well as Sky News and the BBC News Channel carrying the event live, both also interviewed Dr Peter Carter immediately afterwards. Dr Carter’s live interview was also the lead story on the ITV lunchtime news.

 The Independent, The Telegraph, ITV website, Guardian online  Sky newsand the BBC website all covered Mr Lansley’s visit to congress, and we expect more coverage on the visit in the morning’s papers.