RCN calls for investment in community nursing
Published: 21 November 2011
The Royal College of Nursing today (21 November) called for a renewed investment in community nursing as it unveiled a new report highlighting its value, from supporting families of children with autism to enabling dignified end-of-life care.
The new publication ‘Community nursing: transforming health care’ sets out nine outstanding examples of community nursing, highlighting how they serve communities across the UK. While the last decade has seen a significant investment in hospital services, the same period has seen the number of both district nurses and health visitors fall.
Royal College of Nursing Chief Executive & General Secretary, Dr Peter Carter, said:
“A renewed investment in the community nursing workforce is essential to people’s health and is also affordable. If the nation fails to invest in community nursing, the long-term costs of health are likely to increase. The case studies highlighted not only illustrate how people’s health and lifestyles can be improved from new baby to older adult, but how community nurses can also provide the most marvellous end of life care within people’s homes.”
The document highlights a vast range of community nurses and nursing work, including:
• Caring for people with long-term conditions, including chronic illnesses such as diabetes, respiratory and cardiac diseases. This work in West Sussex has been revolutionised through the introduction of telehealth;
• A custody nurse practitioner, who helped to create a new custody nursing service at the Metropolitan Police;
• A district nurse in Lincolnshire who piloted an end of life care guide, while on secondment with the Department of Health; and
• A project in Northern Ireland working with vulnerable young women having their first baby, including providing extra support tailored to the specific needs of the family.
Dr Carter added:
“Nurses who work in the community can be invisible to local people, apart from those who are receiving these vital services. The RCN wants these case studies to inform, inspire and persuade commissioners of services to scrutinise their current community nursing services and identify how they can be both expanded and enhanced – for the benefit of their local population.”
Ends
Notes for Editors
1. For further information, please contact the RCN Media Office on 020 7647 3633, press.office@rcn.org.uk or visit http://www.rcn.org.uk/newsevents/media
2. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interest of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations