LONDON, April 2 /PRNewswire/ --
- Unite Calls for Urgent Recruitment Programme
One specialist school nurse is looking after an estimated 6,900 children in England, according to Unite, the largest union in the country, which is calling for a massive recruitment campaign.
The latest NHS workforce statistics, based on September 2008 figures, reveal that there were 1,062 full-time equivalent (FTE) school nurses in England - an increase of 169 (FTEs) on the previous year. There are an estimated 7.3 million school-aged children in England.
Unite said this works out that each school nurse has to look after, in theory, 6,900 children.
Unite welcomed the small increase in school nurse numbers, but said that the workforce was faced with 'a double whammy'.