New nursing strategy will retain 6Cs

England’s chief nursing officer (CNO) Jane Cummings has confirmed that the 6Cs will remain at the heart of her new vision and strategy for nurses and midwives.

Unveiling initial plans at her fourth CNO Summit yesterday in Birmingham, Ms Cummings said consultations around the country – involving more than 2,000 nurses, midwives and members of the public – had shown overwhelming support for the 6Cs.

The 6Cs – care, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment – underpin the current nursing strategy Compassion in Practice.

Ms Cummings first revealed there would be continuing emphasis on them in an interview in Nursing Standard last month.

In her speech at the summit, Ms Cummings said: ‘We have engaged with people at the Royal College of Midwives congress and the RCN congress, we have held a think tank, national debates and have consulted with the public and patients on what is needed now, and what you are telling me is that the vast majority want a new strategy that keeps the 6Cs at the heart of what we do.

‘You want a strategy for the profession, by the profession, building on the 6Cs brand,’ she told senior nursing, midwifery and care leaders at the event.

Emerging themes from the consultations, which will form the basis of the new strategy to replace Compassion in Practice, include population health and prevention; personalisation; ensuring productivity, safety and effective staffing; and building a sustainable workforce for the future.

These will feed into a new ‘triple aim’ for the profession: to ensure a better experience for patients, better outcomes and better use of resources.

‘We get lots of calls to work harder, smarter or more efficiently,' said Ms Cummings, 'but people say they can’t possibly work harder or faster than they already are, so it is about stepping back and asking if what we are doing is adding value.

‘Our new strategy will set a clear direction for how we as a profession will push the boundaries, and how we will create and add significant value to the challenges the NHS is facing in England over the next five years and beyond.’