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Let's make Scotland the place for nurses to study and work
Happy International Nurses Day to all my colleagues across Scotland, the UK and, indeed, across the world. We are one community, regardless of which part of the world or in which specialty we work. Clearly, none of us work in isolation, and I am forever grateful for the advice and support from all of those colleagues I have worked with throughout my career.
This year celebrates the 75th anniversary of the NHS. A significant landmark. Nursing and nurses have been there since the start and we have much to celebrate and to be proud of, particularly in the way that we have contributed to and shaped the NHS.
This is my second year as Chief Nursing Officer in Scotland, but I am celebrating 40 years since I started my nurse training. I have seen so much change for the good over that time. It is fair to say that there are significant challenges in the current health and care system across Scotland, but we do have a plan.
We know that we need to ensure that nursing is an attractive career. While we will continue to recruit nursing students to undergraduate degree programmes, we also need a better understanding of how to reduce student attrition rates. This will be a team effort, working with higher education providers, NHS Education for Scotland, executive nurse directors, professional bodies and unions, as well as, of course, with students themselves.
We also want to grow the band 2-4 healthcare support worker role and workforce, developing opportunities for ‘earn as you learn’ through youth and modern apprenticeship schemes, as well as return-to-practice initiatives and international recruitment.
To help with recruitment and retention, we are working to:
- Reduce the working week from 37.5 to 36 hours
- Review the band 5 nurse job description
- Review the wider Agenda for Change grades
- Review protected learning time.
These developments offer us the chance to make Scotland and the NHS in Scotland an even more attractive place to study and work.
As I said at the start of my message, nurses do not work in isolation from others and we are in the throes of implementing the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019), which was paused during the pandemic.
We aim to complete implementation by April 2024. This will allow us to ensure that all of the actions I have mentioned above are considered, that the nursing element is strong, and that we can provide safe staffing for patients and, indeed, for staff themselves.
I will end by saying ‘thank you’. Together, we can make the changes that we all want to see and ensure nursing is a great career choice. For those who take this path, once qualified the ‘world is your oyster’, as long as there is an NHS!
Dylai nyrsio fod y proffesiwn delfrydol yng Nghymru
Nursing should be the profession of choice in Wales
Diwrnod rhyngwladol y nyrs hapus! Happy International Nurses Day!
I feel privileged to share this day with you once again as Chief Nursing Officer for Wales. I know that, professionally, you are all facing differing challenges every day, but as head of the profession in Wales I see first hand how you take every opportunity to support the people of Wales, while adapting for the future needs of our professions.
The challenges we have faced over the past 12 months have not diminished as we continue to face the ongoing impact of the pandemic, industrial action, cost of living concerns and a health and care system under significant pressure. I remain immensely proud of our nursing and midwifery workforce in Wales, who continue to provide high-quality care with compassion throughout these difficult times.
We need to continue to work together, turning challenges into opportunities, along with our key stakeholders, including our education, academic, research, professional associations and government colleagues. We are stronger as a profession when we work together and recognise that the workforce is our greatest asset. My CNO priorities are underpinned by a focus on developing and valuing our professions to ensure that we are equipped for the future.
I am excited about our future as a profession and pleased with the focus and progress. A number of key workforce-related initiatives are in train, including opportunities for development and career progression. These include:
- A strategic workforce plan for mental health
- A workforce implementation plan
- Enhancing preceptorship and clinical supervision through implementation of a nationally consistent approach
- Scoping band 4 role opportunities to inform a policy position
- Developing a research action implementation plan for nursing and allied health professionals
- Delivering consistent support for our internationally educated nurses and midwives across Wales
- Supporting digital scholars
- A focus on safeguarding assurance through comprehensive reported and shared learning
- Specific project work to scope sustainable nursing, through an all-Wales project to implement a nursing-focused decarbonisation or adaptation action plan.
I know that these important areas of work will impact positively on the wellbeing and support for our professions and nursing teams across all settings. They are fundamental for the delivery of safe and effective care – as nursing professionals, you have stated that these initiatives will make a difference.
I will continue to listen to what you tell me, in the knowledge that nursing practice is the foundation of high-quality health and care. Nurses are key in applying evidence-based ways to promote health and wellbeing, while respecting the holistic needs of the population.
I want to identify our talented workforce at the earliest opportunity, to hone and nurture nurses' skills – this will ensure that we are well prepared to meet the ever-changing needs of our nation's population, while benefiting from the career development opportunities Wales has to offer. I am excited about the work we are taking forward in Wales because I believe it will change behaviours and create environments within which our nurses – today and in the future – are part of a profession that feels truly valued and respected.
We must create conditions to empower our nurses and midwives
I am delighted to wish a happy International Nurses Day to all our nurses around the world and, in particular, those serving the community in Northern Ireland.
I feel incredibly honoured to have been appointed Chief Nursing Officer for Northern Ireland just over a year ago. I have been struck by the commitment and dedication that I have witnessed first hand, through my visits to service areas and meetings with nurses and midwives, across the region. It is clear to me that we are truly blessed to have a wealth of adaptative, innovative and dedicated individuals, teams and leaders at the centre of our healthcare system who remain kind and compassionate in the toughest of times.
Later this year, on 5 July 2023, we will celebrate 75 years of the National Health Service. The NHS was the very first universal healthcare system available and free to all at the point of delivery, and today I cannot imagine a world without it. As we mark 75 years of the NHS, we not only look back on our great achievements and how much we have learnt and grown, but we also look to the future and how we can transform our healthcare system to improve health outcomes across our population.
In today's political and financial climate, it is more apparent than ever that we face a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment. Our nursing workforce faces significant challenges to meet the ever-rising demands from a population with more complex needs.
When considering how we deal with this challenge, I was particularly taken by what US Senator George Mitchell said last month during a visit to Belfast. He opined that ‘within the word “impossible” is embedded the word possible’ – and I was struck by the thought that our nurses, as part of our population, need to know and believe that possible solutions exist even within seemingly impossible situations.
Nurses have a key role across our healthcare systems, upholding professional standards and speaking up to protect their patients. Those involved in funding, designing, leading, regulating, monitoring and providing health care must use the best available evidence and expertise to lead transformative change. Strong leadership across nursing is critical to ensuring that our profession remains valued and that our staff are enabled to achieve their full potential, positively impacting the health and wellbeing of our population.
The theme of International Nurses Day 2023 is ‘Our Nurses, Our Future’ and, in line with this focus on the future of the profession, we as leaders must create the conditions that empower our nurses and midwives.
I, and my colleagues in senior leadership positions in Northern Ireland and across the UK want to reassure everyone in the profession that we are striving to ensure that we will have the right workforce numbers with the right knowledge, skills and experience, in the right place at the right time to meet changing population demands, where nurses can flourish to be their best.
A chance to celebrate our skilled, diverse and dedicated workforce
Each year, on International Nurses Day, we recognise the difference that nurses make to their patients, communities and health care. As Chief Nursing Officer for England, I remain so proud of our highly skilled and dedicated nursing workforce across health and social care. I want to thank all nursing colleagues for all they do each and every day to support those who need care and their families.
For me, this year's International Nurses Day is particularly poignant because it marks the 75th anniversary of the NHS. Since it was founded in 1948, the NHS has innovated and adapted to meet the needs of the people it serves, always putting patients at the heart of everything it does. Key to all of this is the workforce – the success of the NHS is thanks to the skill and dedication of hundreds of thousands of staff and volunteers and, of course, nurses.
As the largest collective professional group in the NHS, nurses and midwives are such an important part of this workforce. Across all settings, you play a crucial role in transforming how we are delivering care and support, tackling health inequalities and, most importantly, ensuring that we deliver the best possible care.
In my role as CNO, I am committed to ensuring that the right support is in place to enable colleagues to continue this work and to thrive and develop in your careers. This includes continuing to build a workforce fit for now and the future, strengthening and developing our leadership at every level and tackling inequalities. It is also important that, together, we define the future role of nursing and midwifery in leading and delivering high-quality care across health and social care – my new professional strategy, developed with the professions, will do just that and will be published later this year.
As we reflect on the contribution of our professions, we cannot ignore the challenges. The past 3 years have challenged us more than any other time in the history of the NHS, and we continue to face challenges, compounded by recent periods of industrial action. Despite this, nursing and midwifery staff put their patients first and continue to make a real difference. I have never before seen such incredible teamwork, dedication and professionalism as demonstrated by you and your colleagues during the pandemic.
International Nurses Day also offers us a chance to celebrate our skilled, varied and diverse workforce. Since its inception, the NHS has always welcomed and supported colleagues from across the world. On 22 June, it will be 75 years since the HMT Empire Windrush arrived in the UK, carrying 1027 passengers from the West Indies. Some of those passengers joined the newly formed NHS, along with nurses from other countries, including many from Ireland. These colleagues and the successive generations that followed have made such a vital contribution to the NHS and today, our internationally educated nurses and midwives remain an integral part of our nursing and midwifery workforce – I am grateful to them all.
On International Nurses Day, I hope you will all take time to reflect on the significant and unique contribution you all make across health and social care, and I look forward to continuing to recognise this as part of our plans to mark the NHS's 75th anniversary.
International Nurses Day
The day is commemorated around the world on 12 May, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birthday, to celebrate the contribution of all nurses to health care and society. The theme for 2023 is ‘Our Nurses: Our Future’.
This year, the 58th Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service will take place on 16 May at St Paul's Cathedral in London. The service will be live streamed.