Strengthening the Commitment: England progress report
Published: 29 April 2013
To ensure that systems are prepared for the changing health landscape and social care needs of people with learning disabilities, the four UK chief nursing officers initiated a review into learning disabilities nursing. Strengthening the Commitment: The UK Modernising Learning Disabilities Nursing Review, published last year, aims to provide focus and direction for the development of the profession, enhancing its profile and, importantly, ensuring that people with learning disabilities have access to the expert nursing care they need.
Work on the 17 recommendations included in the report is being led by a UK steering committee and four country-wide implementation groups. In England the group is chaired by Elaine Strachan-Hall, Chief Nurse at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, and group members include representatives from a variety of partners and stakeholders. The support and commitment of the implementation group has been a critical factor in getting this work off to a flying start.
As well as taking the work forward at a national level, it is vital that there is local ownership and that people are fully involved. Our first task was to develop a communication strategy and to ensure the report was disseminated as widely as possible, not only through events but also through the use of social media. There is a Facebook page and Twitter chat has proven to be brilliant at spreading the word. We are also about to survey all NHS services to determine local activity in response to the recommendations.
Highlights so far include the excellent work of the nurse consultants in developing a health equalities framework for measuring and tackling health inequalities. This was due to be launched in March in Leeds.
We have also established a UK Learning Disability Nurse Academic Network. This group has huge potential for collaboration, especially in undertaking research that will make a real difference to the health of people with learning disabilities.
Despite the growth in independent providers, little is known about the current learning disabilities nurse workforce or future demands. Recently we held our second collaborative event with a wide range of independent providers. I am hopeful that this work will not only provide exciting career opportunities for learning disabilities nurses, but will also help us develop better care, choice and diversity in service provision. Improving care and safety in acute hospitals has been another area of our work and we are currently planning our third annual conference.
This year saw the first Nursing Standard Learning Disability Nursing Award, celebrating the best of many innovations and developments by nurses. At the Positive Choices conference in March we launched our first leadership programme for senior nursing students. Congratulations to Helen Laverty and her colleagues for organising the programme.
These are just some of the developments taking place. From a policy perspective it is important that this work fits with the other nursing policies and initiatives being implemented. With the publication by the Chief Nursing Officer for England of Compassion in Practice, the Winterbourne View reports and the Francis inquiry, this is a challenging time, but I believe it will lead to positive change for learning disabilities nursing.