ABS National Nursing Survey

About the survey

Nursing roles in breast care are rapidly evolving in response to growing pressure on the health service, increasing complexity in care and workforce challenges. However, there is limited national data to capture the full scope, variation and areas of need within these roles.

Many nurses are being asked to take on increasingly complex and diverse responsibilities, often without a clear framework to support these changes. Greater clarity is essential to ensure fair and appropriate role recognition, but also to protect the integrity and sustainability of nursing roles in breast.

The ABS National Nursing Survey seeks to gather the experiences of nurses working in breast care from across the UK and Ireland in order to highlight key challenges, identify areas of need and inform future work to support and strengthen the profession.

Help us shape the future of nursing roles in breast care.

Have your say

Why This Matters

There is increasing variation in breast focused nursing roles across the UK and Ireland including:

• Job titles and banding
• Scope of practice and responsibilities
• Caseloads, service configuration and expectations

This lack of standardisation makes national planning and benchmarking challenging. By gathering accurate, detailed insight directly from those in post, this survey will help to:

• Map current roles and service models
• Identify gaps, pressures and areas of need
• Support the development of national job planning guidance
• Inform future policy and commissioning decisions

The findings of this survey will be published and may also help inform the future development of a national framework to define, support and strengthen nursing roles in the specialty.

Why nursing voices are essential

For many nurses currently undergoing job planning, role reviews or peer benchmarking, the lack of nationally available data presents a challenge. Without a consistent evidence base, these processes can vary significantly, leading to potential inconsistencies in how roles are defined, recognised and supported.

At a time when services are under increasing pressure and expectations on nursing teams continue to rise, the need for greater clarity and consistency in role definition has never been more urgent.

By sharing their experiences, nurses can help ensure that data reflects a true picture of the current landscape, highlighting the realities, demands and value of breast care roles.

Who Should Take Part

This survey is open to all nurses working in breast roles across the UK and Ireland, regardless of banding, job title or length of time in post. Your input is essential to ensure an accurate national picture.