Report advocates wider role for nurses

AN INCREASED leadership role for nurses within the health service and a "richer range" of career options are recommended in a new blueprint for the future of the nursing profession.

Nurses should take the role of leader in some primary care and clinical management teams, according to Yvonne O'Shea, chief executive of the National Council for the Professional Development of Nursing and Midwifery.

"It's about empowering nurses and saying we have the capability so let's do it. Let's lead on the direction of integration of services, of building up our presence in the community, of building up the specialist roles of nurses and midwives. It's about being active and proactive," she said.

Ms O'Shea's 10-year plan, Nursing and Midwifery in Ireland: A strategy for professional development in a changing health service, was launched by Minister for Health, Mary Harney, yesterday.

Ms O'Shea said she expected no resistance to her proposals from the Department of Health and the HSE, saying Ms Harney and HSE chief executive Prof Brendan Drumm had been "very positive" about her work. Both have contributed forewards to her book.

"I would see the next steps as negotiating with the department and indeed the HSE with relation to implementation."

Ms O'Shea said nurses and midwives should increasingly have "meaningful input at the highest levels" in the Department of Health's development of policies and the HSE's strategic planning.

"This should require nurses and midwives to demonstrate that they possess the competencies that are required to make a meaningful contribution at this level. It should also require the HSE and the department to facilitate the involvement of competent nurses and midwives in this role," she said.

Another of her key objectives is to build nursing and midwifery capacity in the community, with nurses and midwives "moving seamlessly" to "bridge the gap" between acute and primary care settings in line with the needs of patients.

"Nurses and midwives do play a leadership role at the moment, but even more so in our new and transforming services. With the importance of looking after patients where they prefer - which is really in their own home near their families, friends and community - really that's where nurses are well placed," she said.

"The nurse is the key person in relation to a multidisciplinary team. They should play a meaningful role in leading as well as being part of the team."

Recommending a "richer range" of career options for nurses and midwives, Ms O'Shea said opportunities in areas such as education, research and professional development should be explored.

A professional career development service should be provided for all members of the professions, with opportunities to learn management and leadership skills, she said.

Meanwhile, HR managers should work with nurse and midwife managers to increase the attractiveness of the professions for potential entrants.

Ms O'Shea believes the publication of her research is timely, given that 10 years have now passed since the presentation of the Report on the Commission on Nursing.