RCN: Health Survey Shows Why We Need School Nurses, UK

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 19 Dec 2008 - 1:00 PST

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In response to the publication of the Health Survey for England 2007 results, Dr. Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said:

"School nurses are very effective at getting children into healthy eating habits and are vital in the fight against childhood obesity. The problem is that there simply aren't enough of them. Government pledges to ensure that every child has access to a school nurse require serious attention.

"It's great to see results for the role school nurses play in educating Britain's children. TV advertising campaigns cannot work alone and children must learn in school about the importance of healthy eating and exercise in order for the information to stick."

Notes

In 2005 the Government White Paper for Health: Choosing Health: making healthy choices easier pledged by 2010 "to have at least one full-time, year-round, qualified school nurse working with each cluster or group of primary schools and the related secondary school".

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interest of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations.

Royal College of Nursing