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Let’s hope roles dovetail and avoid duplication
Not so long ago the government was under fire for failing to guarantee that England's chief nurse would be replaced when she retired. There were concerns that the profession would lack leadership at national level, with the result that nurses would be sidelined when key policy decisions were made.
A year later and, after much campaigning from professional leaders, three nurses have been appointed to national leadership positions. Jane Cummings has become chief nursing officer (CNO) at the National Commissioning Board; Viv Bennett has taken up her post as director of nursing at the Department of Health; and Sally Brearley is chair of the prime minister's nursing and care quality forum.
As a result, a different danger arises. Ms Cummings has developed a national strategy for nursing, just as Ms Brearley is doing much the same on behalf of David Cameron. Their proposals come just as the finishing touches are being put to the Francis report, which will make its own recommendations on nursing's future in October. All of which looks like a recipe for duplication and potential conflict.
Until 2009 there was only one nursing leader in government: the CNO, who was accountable to ministers at the Department of Health. Then the prime minister of the day, Gordon Brown, set up a commission on the future of nursing that was chaired by another nurse, health minister Ann Keen. The coalition government has gone a step further by appointing three nurses to such senior positions. There is no time limit on Mr Cameron's commission, which means the situation is likely to persist for some years.
On an optimistic note, it is reassuring to see three such impressive women representing the profession in the corridors of power. It is essential that they can find a way of working together to ensure nurses are equipped and empowered to deliver the best possible nursing care. Ms Brearley insists there will be no duplication but 'symbiosis', and nurses will be hoping she is right.
This week's Nursing Standard carries interviews with Ms Brearley and Ms Cummings to give them a chance to set out their plans, as well as giving readers the chance to make up their own minds.
Editorial | July 25 2012 | Vol 26 No 47
Further reading
News: Cummings says her five-point plan will transform nursing in the NHS
Analysis: 'We will build a consensus on the future direction of nursing care'
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