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Ministers ‘ignored’ warnings of health and care staffing crisis for years, says union
NHS ‘faces prospect of being unable to deliver legal commitments’
An infection control nurse looks out from a Covid-19 recovery ward at Craigavon Area Hospital in Co Armagh, Northern Ireland

THE government has ignored more than 20 warnings of a health and care staffing crisis, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said in a statement.

Alarms have been sounded at least 10 times in the last year alone, with numerous warnings made since 2016 while the NHS faces the real prospect of being unable to deliver its legal commitments, the union says.

Health policy experts, politicians and watchdogs have repeatedly flagged up the workforce crisis “engulfing” the sector, the RCN says, calling for changes to the Health and Care Bill going through Parliament to enable the issue to be tackled.

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