NEWS
NEW APPROACH NEEDED FOR MORE BME LEADERSHIP
The NHS needs to rethink its approach to tackling race equality if it wants to see more leaders from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds, according to a clinical commissioning group (CCG) director. Speaking at the NHS Confederation conference in Liverpool in a session on overcoming the hurdles to BME leadership, Wayne Farah, a non-executive director at NHS Newham CCG, said: ‘The NHS is predicated on a deficit model that the reason BME staff are not leaders in the NHS is because there is something wrong with us. ‘The reason is because there is something wrong with the NHS. ‘We have got to find a new model that holds the organisations to account.’ In April, NHS England introduced a Workforce Race Equality Standard, against which NHS organisations are judged on how well BME staff are treated compared with non-BME employees.
WELSH STAFFING BILL TAKES ANOTHER STEP FORWARD AS ASSEMBLY EMBRACES PRINCIPLES Members of the Welsh assembly have approved the general principles of a bill that would place a legal duty on hospitals to make sure there are enough nurses to provide safe care. The Safe Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Bill received universal backing when it was introduced into the full assembly last week, putting Wales a step closer to becoming the first UK country to introduce legally enforceable nurse-to-patient ratios. The bill, which was drawn up by Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams, stipulates that healthcare providers must maintain safe nurse-to-patient ratios at all times in adult inpatient wards in acute hospitals, as well as improve working conditions for nursing staff. Health minister Mark Drakeford said he wants to see in the bill a requirement for ratios to be set using the chief nursing officer’s acuity tool
and for senior nurses to be able to use their professional judgement so the ratio is not inflexible. RCN Wales director Tina Donnelly said: ‘The delivery of high-quality patient care depends on the skills and experience of nurses delivered in a safe environment with safe nursing numbers. The statistics speak for themselves.
‘THIS IS ANOTHER IMPORTANT STEP IN PROTECTING PATIENTS’ ‘This is another important step in protecting patients and improving health care in Wales.’ Professor Donnelly added that the college would continue its campaign for a law to protect patient care as the bill makes its journey through parliament. The bill will be considered in detail by the health and social care committee on July 9.
NMC unlikely to implement training changes in next year Changes to nurse education recommended in the Shape of Caring review are unlikely to be introduced within the next year, Nursing and Midwifery Council chief executive Jackie Smith has said. The review into the education and training of nurses and care assistants by Lord Willis of Knaresborough, which was published in March, includes recommendations for the NMC. Lord Willis wants the regulator to gather evidence and consult on a 2+1+1 year model for pre-registration nurse education. Under this model, nursing students would spend two years in ‘whole person’ training, after which they would spend a third year training with an employer in one of the specialist nursing fields. A fourth year of ‘robust preceptorship’ would then follow.
Other recommendations for the NMC include having the regulator consult on introducing additional fields of practice, such as community nursing, to pre-registration education. It also wants the NMC to review its current mentorship model and standards.
Pressing ahead
Speaking at the NHS Confederation conference in Liverpool last week, Ms Smith said the regulator’s council would consider the review at its next meeting in July. She said that she could not speak on behalf of the council, but ‘the NMC is broadly in favour of taking these recommendations forward’. Ms Smith, who co-sponsored the
review with Health Education England (HEE) director of nursing Lisa Bayliss-Pratt, said that the NMC wants to ‘press ahead’. However, she added: ‘I cannot see much being implemented in the next 12 months, if I’m honest.’ Any changes to the regulator’s education and training standards would require consultation, she said. The review was commissioned by HEE and also contains recommendations for the body to consider. Speaking at the same conference session, Lord Willis said that using patients as a ‘resource’ in training will be fundamental. Lord Willis wants the NMC to consult on a new model for pre-registration nurse education
NURSING juneNo10other :: vol 29without no 41 ::permission. 2015 9 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 14, 2015. For personal use only. uses Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
NEW APPROACH NEEDED FOR MORE BME LEADERSHIP
The NHS needs to rethink its approach to tackling race equality if it wants to see more leaders from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds, according to a clinical commissioning group (CCG) director. Speaking at the NHS Confederation conference in Liverpool in a session on overcoming the hurdles to BME leadership, Wayne Farah, a non-executive director at NHS Newham CCG, said: ‘The NHS is predicated on a deficit model that the reason BME staff are not leaders in the NHS is because there is something wrong with us. ‘The reason is because there is something wrong with the NHS. ‘We have got to find a new model that holds the organisations to account.’ In April, NHS England introduced a Workforce Race Equality Standard, against which NHS organisations are judged on how well BME staff are treated compared with non-BME employees.
WELSH STAFFING BILL TAKES ANOTHER STEP FORWARD AS ASSEMBLY EMBRACES PRINCIPLES Members of the Welsh assembly have approved the general principles of a bill that would place a legal duty on hospitals to make sure there are enough nurses to provide safe care. The Safe Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Bill received universal backing when it was introduced into the full assembly last week, putting Wales a step closer to becoming the first UK country to introduce legally enforceable nurse-to-patient ratios. The bill, which was drawn up by Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams, stipulates that healthcare providers must maintain safe nurse-to-patient ratios at all times in adult inpatient wards in acute hospitals, as well as improve working conditions for nursing staff. Health minister Mark Drakeford said he wants to see in the bill a requirement for ratios to be set using the chief nursing officer’s acuity tool
and for senior nurses to be able to use their professional judgement so the ratio is not inflexible. RCN Wales director Tina Donnelly said: ‘The delivery of high-quality patient care depends on the skills and experience of nurses delivered in a safe environment with safe nursing numbers. The statistics speak for themselves.
‘THIS IS ANOTHER IMPORTANT STEP IN PROTECTING PATIENTS’ ‘This is another important step in protecting patients and improving health care in Wales.’ Professor Donnelly added that the college would continue its campaign for a law to protect patient care as the bill makes its journey through parliament. The bill will be considered in detail by the health and social care committee on July 9.
NMC unlikely to implement training changes in next year Changes to nurse education recommended in the Shape of Caring review are unlikely to be introduced within the next year, Nursing and Midwifery Council chief executive Jackie Smith has said. The review into the education and training of nurses and care assistants by Lord Willis of Knaresborough, which was published in March, includes recommendations for the NMC. Lord Willis wants the regulator to gather evidence and consult on a 2+1+1 year model for pre-registration nurse education. Under this model, nursing students would spend two years in ‘whole person’ training, after which they would spend a third year training with an employer in one of the specialist nursing fields. A fourth year of ‘robust preceptorship’ would then follow.
Other recommendations for the NMC include having the regulator consult on introducing additional fields of practice, such as community nursing, to pre-registration education. It also wants the NMC to review its current mentorship model and standards.
Pressing ahead
Speaking at the NHS Confederation conference in Liverpool last week, Ms Smith said the regulator’s council would consider the review at its next meeting in July. She said that she could not speak on behalf of the council, but ‘the NMC is broadly in favour of taking these recommendations forward’. Ms Smith, who co-sponsored the
review with Health Education England (HEE) director of nursing Lisa Bayliss-Pratt, said that the NMC wants to ‘press ahead’. However, she added: ‘I cannot see much being implemented in the next 12 months, if I’m honest.’ Any changes to the regulator’s education and training standards would require consultation, she said. The review was commissioned by HEE and also contains recommendations for the body to consider. Speaking at the same conference session, Lord Willis said that using patients as a ‘resource’ in training will be fundamental. Lord Willis wants the NMC to consult on a new model for pre-registration nurse education
NURSING juneNo10other :: vol 29without no 41 ::permission. 2015 9 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 14, 2015. For personal use only. uses Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
