UK-wide update on Strengthening the Commitment
Published: 29 April 2013
UK steering group
The UK steering group for Strengthening the Commitment met for the second time in December. This was the first meeting where we had student representatives, after Amy Hodkin from Sheffield Hallam University and Joshua Kernohan from Birmingham City University were offered places on the group following a call for expressions of interest via the UK Academic Network.
The UK steering group will:
• develop, consult on and agree the delivery action plan for the UK-wide recommendations
• lead the implementation of the UK actions from the UK delivery action plan
• provide a leadership and monitoring role to the national implementation groups
• provide reports and recommendations to the chief nursing officers across the UK
• provide governance over the resources available to support the implementation of the UK delivery action plan.
The academic network
The network has developed an action plan, and a number of subgroups that include people from across the UK have been developed to lead on pieces of work. These are starting to be developed.
Discussions with the Council of Deans have led to the setting up of a small group to support the work of the network around Strengthening the Commitment.
The network met next in March during the Positive Choices conference, with updates on the work being undertaken.
UK country updates
Scotland
The first meeting of the National Implementation Group, chaired by Professor Angela Wallace, was held last November. This followed a consultation event with over 130 people with learning disability, family carers, nurses and other stakeholders to shape the action plan, which was launched in March.
The Scottish Consortium for Learning Disabilities has been commissioned to continue working co-productively as part of the National Implementation Group and has developed an easy-read summary (PDF 436KB) of the Strengthening the Commitment report.
The Scottish Learning Disability Nursing Network is organising an awards ceremony due to take place in June to celebrate excellence in learning disability nursing across Scotland.
NHS Education for Scotland has been developing a pre-registration framework. The work has been carried out by a group of academics and practitioners and has included consultation with people with learning disabilities, family carers and the wider learning disability nursing communities through the networks across Scotland. The framework outlines the principles that should guide the design and delivery of programmes. It details capabilities to guide content and assessments to ensure students gain the knowledge, skills and values they need to become contemporary learning disability nurses. The framework also aims to support universities to move closer towards a national programme and was due to be launched in March.
Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council (NIPEC), on behalf of and in partnership with the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS), held a task and finish group in September 2012 with the aim of developing an action plan to meet the recommendations of the Strengthening the Commitment report. The group was chaired by Francis Rice, Executive Director of Nursing for the Southern Health and Social Care Trust, and was attended by a wide range of stakeholders from across learning disability service and voluntary organisations.
As a result of the workshop, a draft action plan has been drawn up that will now be considered by the DHSSPS. At this stage it is envisaged that a Northern Ireland collaborative lead by the DHSSPS will drive the action plan forward.
Wales
The Ministerial Advisory Group charged with overseeing the implementation of Strengthening the Commitment in Wales met for the second time in early December. This group comprises representatives of all the health boards in Wales that provide specialist learning disability services and higher education providers. Each member of the group has made a commitment to work with a local implementation group to ensure that the recommendations of Strengthening the Commitment are acted upon across Wales, and that such action takes place in partnership with people with learning disabilities, their families and carers, with colleagues working in mainstream health care and those working in other agencies and sectors. These local groups are currently at different stages of development but the goal was for all to be fully operational before the next national meeting.
A national implementation plan has been agreed and this has been translated into a programme of work containing measureable actions to be achieved by stated deadlines. It is hoped that this approach will ensure that the recommendations are translated into actions that bring about sustainable changes and allow progress to be monitored.
Learning disability nursing within Wales is currently receiving high-level support and recognition. At the recent RCN Wales Nurse of the Year awards, Minister for Health Lesley Griffiths stated in her address that Strengthening the Commitment is a key priority for her.
At the same event, both the winner of the student nurse category, Georgie Hobson, and the runner-up, Anthony Green, were learning disability nursing students from Bangor University. Elsewhere, Linda Phillips, a community learning disability nurse from Llanelli, has been made a Queen’s nurse. It’s great to see learning disability nurses in Wales receiving such recognition; Strengthening the Commitment will help us all to build on this.