The Nursing Week Opinion


School nursing scheme needs cash behind it


A government drive to make it easier for young people to con- tact their school nurse will not be successful without more in- vestment in the nursing work- force, unions have warned. The Department of Health


has been working with young people to design new resources, such as posters and leafl ets, to promote school nursing. It also wants pupils to be


able to contact their school nurse by text and is encour- aging all children starting school this September to fi nd out who their school nurse is. Launching the initiative,


public health minister Anne Milton said: “We want to make it easier for young people to use the school nursing service and get good health advice.” Unite professional offi cer


Rosalind Godson told Nursing Times that young people in many places were already able to text their nurse, but said any DH move to raise the profi le of school nursing was welcome. However, she added: “We


need the government to put its money where its mouth is and invest in the service.” Royal College of Nursing


chief executive and general sec- retary Peter Carter agreed, saying: “School nurses are already overstretched and we must make sure there is the resource to meet demand.” Latest fi gures show that, in


May, there were 1,146 school nurses serving more than six million 5-15 year olds. Earlier this year the government announced a school nurse strategy, setting out a vision of a universal service for all chil- dren. However, it did not include any extra funding. Under government reforms,


councils will take responsi- bility for commissioning public health services from April next year, including the provision of school nurses.


Peter Carter


“New initiative will tell the public that nurses are remarkable”


W


e all understand the quali- ties expected of a nurse; they need to be caring, compassionate and highly


skilled; they also need to be able to under- stand a patient’s condition, as well as the anxiety and apprehension they have in rela- tion to their condition. Every week I travel around the UK and I meet countless nurses who strive to work to these principles, who work hard in a diffi cult and complex pro- fession. They certainly didn’t become nurses because it was easy. Too often, however, the general public


sees only the negative politics and heavy pressures associated with nursing; our reputation is strong in many quarters, but there is no point denying that in others nursing is regularly under attack. This is why the Royal College of Nursing is launching the This is Nursing initiative to show the public what we all know: that it takes a remarkable person to be a nurse. Our This is Nursing initiative will be


launched to the public through a UK-wide bus advertising campaign. We want to give members of the public the opportunity to see the impressive work that you do, to explore our new website, and to discover for themselves what an extraordinary pro- fession nursing really is. Within the website there is a section called “24 hours of nursing”, which is designed to promote the diverse number of nursing roles. From a neonatal nurse to a healthcare assistant in a care home, from the frontline of Afghanistan to the frontline of A&E, it shows how nursing makes a massive dif- ference to the lives of millions. This is Nursing has seven work areas that


represent some of the most important chal- lenges facing the profession. These include professional attitudes and behaviours, where we will tackle how we can ensure


Peter Carter is chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing


patients receive a consistently good attitude from nursing staff. There’s also nurse lead- ership; exploring how we can inspire the profession’s future leaders. We will also explore the burden of unnecessary paper- work and seek to fi nd a way to do away with this obstruction that nurses so often say hinders them in delivering care. How we can embed the RCN’s Principles of Nursing Practice is another of the seven areas. The principles make clear what quality nursing care looks like and can be used for quality improvement, sharing with patients and carers, and for professional development. We will look at nurse education by inves-


tigating best practice from around the country. This work includes the inde- pendent Willis Commission on Nursing Education, which will publish its report later this year. We need to address the rea- sons why some students are prevented from getting the best preparation; it’s time we showed and proved what we can do to meet the considerable demands of the future. Our HCAs require support too. This is


Nursing will examine how we can improve the consistency and increase the level of training delivered to HCAs across the UK. Some parts of the country do it very well, but some barely do anything at all; this dis- parity is not good for patients or HCAs. This is Nursing will also seek to tackle


inadequate staffi ng levels and a diluted skill mix. Nurses need to be able to work with the right level of support around them – it’s a basic truth about modern nursing. Without the correct balance patients often do not get the care they deserve, particularly at busier moments such as meal times. We want to be at the forefront of getting this right. Over the coming weeks, all health


workers and members of the public will have opportunities to get involved with this work. I would urge you to go to the new website, explore the seven areas and


fi nd out more about This is Nursing. ● www.rcn.org.uk/thisisnursing


www.nursingtimes.net / Vol 108 No 36 / Nursing Times 04.09.12 7


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