Editorial

Election 2015: making sure your voice is heard Alison Twycross 10.1136/eb-2015-102076

School of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University, London, UK

Correspondence to: Dr Alison Twycross, School of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, UK; [email protected]

As I write there are less than 3 months until the UK general election. Never before has the outcome been so hard to predict. This means every vote counts; and it is important that nurses’ voices are heard. Given this, I was surprised to be told recently that many nurses do not vote. After all, if you do not vote you can hardly criticise if the Government is one that does not value the contribution made by nurses to healthcare. So, if you have not already registered, I urge to do so at: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and other healthcare unions have identified key issues that they suggest nurses need to consider when deciding which party to vote for. The RCN campaign Nursing Counts can be accessed at: http://elections.rcn.org.uk. The related RCN video can be seen at http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=KrJPB6CDQYw&sns=em. In it, the issues three nurses will be bearing in mind when deciding which political party to vote for are presented. For me personally, I will be voting for the party I believe will safeguard the National Health Service (NHS), and do most for vulnerable and needy people. In the last week’s EBN Twitter Chat, someone pondered if nurses could do anything to address social inequalities. I believe that who you vote for is potentially one way nurses can help address this issue. Under the present Government, the rich have got richer and the poor have got poorer. The Equality Trust1 calculates that the richest 100 people in the UK now have as much wealth as the poorest 30% of households. Dorling,2 a professor of social geography, has demonstrated unarguably that gross inequality in society causes many harms, including reduced life expectancy for the poorest, more mental illness, more obesity, more addiction, more crime, more child abuse, and less sense of community. So I will be voting for the party that promises to do something to address the income gap. Two examples of how this can be achieved are by reforming the tax system, and ensuring that the low paid receive a living wage rather than just the minimum wage. I would like to vote for a party that was prepared to take decisions about healthcare policy outside of politics but I am not sure if any of the parties is brave enough to do this.3 A recent report from the Kings Fund states that the changes made to the NHS by the coalition have been disastrous.4 The Kings Fund predicted this in 2010.5 I am going to vote for the party that I believe will listen to evidence before making sweeping changes.

Evid Based Nurs April 2015 | volume 18 | number 2 |

There is need for the next government to re-engineer the NHS based on evidence from external think tanks, etc, and not on ill-conceived ideology. This will involve looking at general practitioner services and ensuring people are able to access them in a timely manner. There will need to be investment in community services to allow the rhetoric about moving care into the community to become a reality. At the moment access to palliative care varies across the country. I will be looking for assurance that, even in a time of austerity, the party I vote for is signed up to providing good end-of-life care for all. Finally, I would like the party I vote for to promise to implement the recommendations of the pay review body, and for nurses to be better remunerated. There is need to ensure that there are sufficient registered nurses on each shift. In December 2014, just in London, there were 8000 unfilled nursing posts.6 In the last 2 years, there has been a 150% increase in the use of agency nurses.7 Increasing the number of registered nurses employed would reduce the need for expensive agency nurses—and release money for use in other parts of the service. Twitter Follow Alison Twycross at @alitwy Competing interests None.

References 1. The Equality Trust. A fairer, stronger economy. London: The Equality Trust, 2015. http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/resources/ our-publications/fairer-stronger-economy-anticipatinggeneral-election-2015 2. Dorling D. Inequality and the 1%. London: Verso, 2014. 3. Twycross A. Are you brave enough Mr Hunt? Are you brave enough Mr Burnham? Evid Based Nurs 2015;18:1. 4. Kings Fund. The NHS under the coalition government part one: NHS reform. London: Kings Fund, 2015. http://www.kingsfund. org.uk/publications/nhs-under-coalition-government 5. Kings Fund. Liberating the NHS. The right prescription in a cold climate? 2010. http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/files/kf/field/ field_publication_file/liberating-nhs-right-prescription-coldclimate-oct10.pdf 6. Royal College of Nursing. RCN London Safe Staffing Report. 2014. http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/ 602887/RCN_London_Safe_Staffing_Report_2014_WEB.PDF 7. Royal College of Nursing. Frontline First: Runaway Agency Spending. 2015. http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/ 0005/608684/FF-report-Agency-spending_final_2.pdf

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