New framework should be given a fair chance

A commitment to ensuring the right staff are in the right place at the right time appears at number nine on the list of ten commitments that underpin the new framework for nursing in England. Others include a pledge to improve education, training and professional development, and a drive to ramp up nursing research with a view to developing a stronger evidence-base for nursing care.

Launched by England’s chief nurse Jane Cummings at the RCN this week, the framework is the result of an extensive consultation that garnered 11,000 contributions from nurses at all levels across the country.

Professor Cummings’ previous strategy, Compassion in Practice, divided professional opinion by promoting the 6Cs – care, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment – as the cornerstones of nursing. Whatever your view, there is no doubt that they resonated with many nurses, and have gained much greater traction than similar initiatives introduced by other nursing leaders.

The new framework, Leading Change, Adding Value, retains the 6Cs but seeks to build on them. In an interview with Nursing Standard in advance of the launch, Professor Cummings stressed that she wants to position nurses as leaders and ensure those in authority support them effectively. She deserves plenty of support in striving to achieve such noble aims.

Taken individually, the commitments are hard to argue with. There are promises to promote population health and prevention, to work with patients and their families so they can make informed choices, and to enhance outcomes by making better use of technology.

The full document, aimed at nurses, midwives and care staff, had not reached Nursing Standard as we went to press, so it remains to be seen whether England’s nurses respond positively or with scepticism. But commitments to improve staffing, strengthen leadership and promote better health, surely deserve to be given every chance of success?