Posted 18 February 2016 - 10:47
Posted 18 February 2016 - 10:47
News
RCN praises 'bold changes' to Scottish health care
New strategy recommends training nurses to deliver advanced practice
RCN Scotland has welcomed the latest National Clinical Strategy for Scotland that it says sets out ‘bold changes’ to health and care services.
The document, published yesterday (Wednesday, February 17) by the Scottish government, includes a foreword co-signed by Scotland’s chief nursing officer Fiona McQueen.
The strategy includes commitments to workforce planning such as working with health boards to find where vacancies occur, and improving data in areas such as midwifery, neonatal nursing and community nursing.
It also explores investment issues and opportunities to transform roles, and recommends training experienced nurses to deliver advanced practice.
The document states that the development of a highly skilled and effective mix of professionals in primary care will require targeted training for nurses, pharmacists and allied health care professionals. It says this will enable such staff to take on the extended roles required to practice more autonomously in the primary/community care services of the future.
RCN Scotland director Theresa Fyffe said: ‘The bold changes, which are implicit in this document, could potentially transform the way our health and care services are structured and delivered.
‘What’s missing, however, is any explicit detail on how these changes could be delivered.’
She called for a public consultation as well as cooperation from all organisations in order to successfully achieve a ‘route map’ for implementation.
She concluded: ‘If the NHS is to flourish, be sustainable and provide quality patient care into the future, we need to take a long, hard look at how we deliver services differently.
‘The public must be part of that discussion if the strategy is to deliver the right services for them and in the right place.’
RCN Scotland’s manifesto ahead of the country's parliamentary elections in May calls for politicians to put aside party differences and focus on future generations, rather than short-term goals.
Read the strategy here