Crunch time for learning disability nursing as student numbers crash

Plummeting learning disability student nurse numbers are leaving the specialty on the “verge of collapse”, it was warned today. Fears about the future of learning disability nursing were raised during the second annual Nursing Times Workforce Summit last week.

Professor Mark Radford, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for England and soon-to-be Chief Nurse at Health Education England, revealed that only around 260 learning disability nurses were expected to graduate this year – almost half the figure from previous years.

NHS Employers Chief Executive Danny Mortimer also outlined his fears about the learning disability nurse workforce during the panel discussion. He said: “The biggest areas of risk in nursing right now are mental health and learning disability nursing. Learning disability nursing in particular is on the verge of collapse educationally and we have do some urgent things to redress that balance.”

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Source: Nursing Times, 25 September 2019