Scottish Government Listens To Nursing Voice

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 30 Jun 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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The Scottish Government has announced a new approach to the modernisation of community nursing in Scotland, but having listened to the grave concerns of the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland, the specialist skills of health visitors, district nurses and school nurses will not now be lost.

RCN Scotland and other trade unions have reached agreement with the Scottish Government to work together to modernise community nursing within a team setting throughout NHS Scotland. This new start no longer focuses reform around the controversial generic community health nurse role (CHN), which is being 'piloted' in a small number of areas. The work done by those nurses and others in the pilot sites will, however, still make a valuable contribution to future developments.

Theresa Fyffe, Director of RCN Scotland, said: "RCN Scotland welcomes the Cabinet Secretary's decision to work with us to find a new way forward for community nursing in Scotland. This is good news not only for nurses working in our communities but also for patients who will continue to have access to the specialist skills of nurses in the community, which are essential to the delivery of high-quality care.

"In consultation with our members and a wide range of other health professionals, RCN Scotland developed a vision for a sustainable future for community nursing. We will now use this vision to influence the way forward, working in partnership with the Scottish Government and other unions to ensure that a patient-centred approach is at the heart of any changes to community nursing services in Scotland."

Source
RCN Scotland