Quizzing the politicians

On BBC Radion London,  in a debate with party health spokespeople, I challenged them thus:  'The disappointing pre-election debate about health has talked mostly about money and ideology. I haven’t heard enough about investing in what works, and investing to save. The evidence shows beyond all doubt that the more graduate registered nurses who work in our hospitals, the fewer deaths there are, and the higher the quality of care. Poor care costs lives and money. Expert nurses save lives. Substituting them with less qualified staff to save money is a false economy. It leads to more deaths and illness, and damages quality. Yet government cuts have led to fewer nursing posts, and fewer nurse training places. What do the parties propose to do about investing to save - in nursing and in safe staffing levels? And what is the evidence base of your proposals?'

Now here's a surprise - none of them answered the question adequately. And I'm still waiting for the answer. So are the UK's nurses.