Managing director/publisher Rhonda Oliver Editor in chief Jean Gray Editor Graham Scott Deputy editor Elaine Cole (maternity leave) Acting deputy editor Janet Snell Assistant editor Roger Evans
Editorial Graham Scott
ART&SCIENCE Editor Gwen Clarke Deputy editors Sonia Davies, Tanya Fernandes Clinical editor Noreen Begley NEWS & VIEWS News editor Sarah Harrison Deputy news editor Sally Gillen Reporters Jennifer Sprinks, Kat Keogh Development editor Frances Pickersgill Features editor Thelma Agnew Reflections editor Clare Lomas PRODUCTION & DESIGN Head of production Fiona Maclean Senior production editor Julie Hickey Production manager Arnie Beeson Production editors Sarah Howe, Jennifer Oldfield Deputy production editor Justin Stevens Sub editors Yvonne Byron Nour, Joyce McKimm, Jennifer Saunders Art directors Ken McLoone, Paul Swainson Deputy art director Minesh Parmar Designer Sujata Aurora Picture editor Philip Brecht Deputy picture editor Helen Jones Assistant picture editor Karen Gordon Production assistant Annette Taylor-Anderson Ad production executives Sally Gauntlett, Sue Horn IT AND NEW MEDIA Technology director John Day Manager Alex Oldfield Web editor Amanda Carter IT assistant Kerry Taylor ADMINISTRATION Administration manager Maria O’Brien Editorial administrative assistants Sarah Musisi, Jane Yates BUSINESS UNIT Commercial director Tony O’Rourke PA to commercial director Angelina George Head of marketing Helen Sumner Deputy head of marketing Michelle Day Events executive Rachel Weeden Subscriptions manager Beryl John Group educational projects manager Laura Downes RGN Advertisement and sponsorship sales manager Neil Hobson Senior sponsorship and advertising specialist Julia Gomersall Advertisement and sponsorship executives Rachel Fisher, Kelly Smith Classified sales manager Andy McCallum Sales project specialist Freddie Collier Classified sales executives Mandy Croggon, Shona Gethin, Pamela Gethin, Stephanie Mackrill SUBSCRIPTIONS
Personal rates from £76.80 a year. Telephone 0345 772 6100 Institutional rates from £675 a year. Send all enquiries to [email protected] Visit www.nursing-standard.co.uk for details. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS
The Heights, 59-65 Lowlands Road, Harrow-on-the-Hill, Middlesex HA1 3AW Tel: +44 (0)20 8423 1333 Fax: +44 (0)20 8872 3197 ISSN 0029-6570 Email: [email protected] You can email staff at Nursing Standard in the following way: (first name).(second name)@rcnpublishing.co.uk Nursing Standard is published every Wednesday by RCN Publishing Company Ltd, the publishing company of the Royal College of Nursing. It seeks to promote professional excellence, and encourage creativity and innovation in nursing, midwifery and health visiting practice. Nursing Standard also aims to enhance nurses’ and healthcare assistants’ career development and to help them achieve and maintain a healthy and rewarding working environment. Nursing Standard is editorially independent and the opinions expressed are not those of the RCN or of the contributor’s employing organisation unless specifically stated. Acceptance of an advertisement does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement of a product or service, either by the RCN or RCN Publishing.
EDITOR
It would be a shame if this career option is lost A Nursing Standard survey of 52 NHS organisations in the UK paints a mixed picture about the future of nurse consultants. The number of these clinical leaders is up in around a third of places, but static or in decline elsewhere. Those who specialise in mental health or learning disabilities seem to be the most vulnerable to cuts, while dementia nurse consultants are in increasing demand. It is entirely appropriate that managers in each organisation decide how many of these posts are necessary or desirable, but the wide variation in approach makes little sense. Two of the NHS trusts we surveyed told us they do not employ any nurse consultants at all, yet others see the value in having several. The lack of consensus is baffling.
THE LACK OF CONSENSUS ON THE MERITS OF NURSE CONSULTANTS IS BAFFLING
The first consultant-level posts emerged in the 1990s, with former Nursing Standard nurse of the year Paula Taylor among the pioneers. The then prime minister Tony Blair liked the idea so much that, at our annual awards in 1998, he announced the role would be rolled out more widely. By 2001 there were 130 whole-time equivalent posts in England alone. That number had risen to 1,139 by 2012, but now progress seems to have stalled. For too long nurses who wanted to progress had little choice but to pursue a career in management. The creation of nurse consultant roles offered the chance to work in clinical practice while delivering education to less experienced colleagues and conducting research. It would be a great shame if these opportunities dried up or were lost altogether. In too many organisations, short-term decisions in the name of efficiency lead to posts being axed and good people being lost – and with them their leadership and expertise. To make matters worse, when such decisions affect senior nurses in the NHS, the biggest losers are not the staff affected but the patients they serve. See news page 7 Air your views on
Nursing Standard and
@NScomment
Have your say by joining our weekly Twitter debate. Every Thursday from 12.30 to 1.30 use #NScomment and share your views with other nurses on a hot topic of the day october 23 :: vol 28 no 8 :: 2013 3
Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 06, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Editorial Graham Scott
ART&SCIENCE Editor Gwen Clarke Deputy editors Sonia Davies, Tanya Fernandes Clinical editor Noreen Begley NEWS & VIEWS News editor Sarah Harrison Deputy news editor Sally Gillen Reporters Jennifer Sprinks, Kat Keogh Development editor Frances Pickersgill Features editor Thelma Agnew Reflections editor Clare Lomas PRODUCTION & DESIGN Head of production Fiona Maclean Senior production editor Julie Hickey Production manager Arnie Beeson Production editors Sarah Howe, Jennifer Oldfield Deputy production editor Justin Stevens Sub editors Yvonne Byron Nour, Joyce McKimm, Jennifer Saunders Art directors Ken McLoone, Paul Swainson Deputy art director Minesh Parmar Designer Sujata Aurora Picture editor Philip Brecht Deputy picture editor Helen Jones Assistant picture editor Karen Gordon Production assistant Annette Taylor-Anderson Ad production executives Sally Gauntlett, Sue Horn IT AND NEW MEDIA Technology director John Day Manager Alex Oldfield Web editor Amanda Carter IT assistant Kerry Taylor ADMINISTRATION Administration manager Maria O’Brien Editorial administrative assistants Sarah Musisi, Jane Yates BUSINESS UNIT Commercial director Tony O’Rourke PA to commercial director Angelina George Head of marketing Helen Sumner Deputy head of marketing Michelle Day Events executive Rachel Weeden Subscriptions manager Beryl John Group educational projects manager Laura Downes RGN Advertisement and sponsorship sales manager Neil Hobson Senior sponsorship and advertising specialist Julia Gomersall Advertisement and sponsorship executives Rachel Fisher, Kelly Smith Classified sales manager Andy McCallum Sales project specialist Freddie Collier Classified sales executives Mandy Croggon, Shona Gethin, Pamela Gethin, Stephanie Mackrill SUBSCRIPTIONS
Personal rates from £76.80 a year. Telephone 0345 772 6100 Institutional rates from £675 a year. Send all enquiries to [email protected] Visit www.nursing-standard.co.uk for details. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS
The Heights, 59-65 Lowlands Road, Harrow-on-the-Hill, Middlesex HA1 3AW Tel: +44 (0)20 8423 1333 Fax: +44 (0)20 8872 3197 ISSN 0029-6570 Email: [email protected] You can email staff at Nursing Standard in the following way: (first name).(second name)@rcnpublishing.co.uk Nursing Standard is published every Wednesday by RCN Publishing Company Ltd, the publishing company of the Royal College of Nursing. It seeks to promote professional excellence, and encourage creativity and innovation in nursing, midwifery and health visiting practice. Nursing Standard also aims to enhance nurses’ and healthcare assistants’ career development and to help them achieve and maintain a healthy and rewarding working environment. Nursing Standard is editorially independent and the opinions expressed are not those of the RCN or of the contributor’s employing organisation unless specifically stated. Acceptance of an advertisement does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement of a product or service, either by the RCN or RCN Publishing.
EDITOR
It would be a shame if this career option is lost A Nursing Standard survey of 52 NHS organisations in the UK paints a mixed picture about the future of nurse consultants. The number of these clinical leaders is up in around a third of places, but static or in decline elsewhere. Those who specialise in mental health or learning disabilities seem to be the most vulnerable to cuts, while dementia nurse consultants are in increasing demand. It is entirely appropriate that managers in each organisation decide how many of these posts are necessary or desirable, but the wide variation in approach makes little sense. Two of the NHS trusts we surveyed told us they do not employ any nurse consultants at all, yet others see the value in having several. The lack of consensus is baffling.
THE LACK OF CONSENSUS ON THE MERITS OF NURSE CONSULTANTS IS BAFFLING
The first consultant-level posts emerged in the 1990s, with former Nursing Standard nurse of the year Paula Taylor among the pioneers. The then prime minister Tony Blair liked the idea so much that, at our annual awards in 1998, he announced the role would be rolled out more widely. By 2001 there were 130 whole-time equivalent posts in England alone. That number had risen to 1,139 by 2012, but now progress seems to have stalled. For too long nurses who wanted to progress had little choice but to pursue a career in management. The creation of nurse consultant roles offered the chance to work in clinical practice while delivering education to less experienced colleagues and conducting research. It would be a great shame if these opportunities dried up or were lost altogether. In too many organisations, short-term decisions in the name of efficiency lead to posts being axed and good people being lost – and with them their leadership and expertise. To make matters worse, when such decisions affect senior nurses in the NHS, the biggest losers are not the staff affected but the patients they serve. See news page 7 Air your views on
Nursing Standard and
@NScomment
Have your say by joining our weekly Twitter debate. Every Thursday from 12.30 to 1.30 use #NScomment and share your views with other nurses on a hot topic of the day october 23 :: vol 28 no 8 :: 2013 3
Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 06, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
