Opinion
Emergency nurses: leading the development of national policy Roisin Devlin and Linsey Sheerin give their views on the latest moves to tackle poor care in Northern Ireland
EMERGENCY NURSE
Getty
FOR EMERGENCY nurses in Northern Ireland, the RCN emergency care summit in Belfast in February was not just another conference. It was imperative that our voices were heard loud and clear, and nobody wanted to leave the event feeling inspired only to become disillusioned or apathetic a week or two later. We knew we would have to keep up the momentum and make the summit a catalyst for change. The summit was attended by some of the most influential people in health and social care in Northern Ireland, including health minister Edwin Poots, chief nursing officer (CNO) Charlotte McArdle, chief medical officer (CMO) Michael McBride and permanent secretary at the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety Andrew McCormick, as well as directors of nursing, directors of acute services and the medical clinical leads of our emergency departments (EDs). The presence of all these important healthcare figures in one room signalled that, if change is going to happen, now is the time. We told Mr Poots and Ms McArdle that emergency nurses in Northern Ireland lack the preparation, support and development they need to provide consistently good care. A recent inspection of the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), the Northern Ireland equivalent of the Care Quality Commission, supports our claims in its finding that, because of under-staffing and the wrong skill mix, some nurses work beyond their competency levels. Emergency nurses welcomed Ms McArdle’s announcement that she will commission the Northern Ireland Practice
staff, and Mr Poots admitted that ‘some of the issues were not getting through to him’. Over the past weeks, leaders have affirmed that they had heard and understood the summit’s messages by meeting front line staff, and emergency nurses were delighted to see our CNO and CMO making impromptu visits to four of our major EDs recently.
and Education Council for Nursing and Midwifery (NIPEC) and RCN Emergency Care Network to devise professional standards and a career pathway for emergency nurses in Northern Ireland. The announcement indicates that leaders in health and social care in Northern Ireland are committed to investment in nurses’ development. The Faculty of Emergency Nursing (FEN) has developed an excellent competency and developmental framework that has yet to be used in Northern Ireland. We hope that Ms McArdle’s commission will build on FEN’s work and that of the RCN Emergency Care Association. We also hope that, with the support of the CNO and NIPEC, all health and social care trusts in Northern Ireland will recognise the importance of, and be accountable for, nurturing, supporting and developing emergency nurses. At the February summit, our healthcare leaders were asked to listen to front line
Outcomes During Northern Ireland Assembly question time, Mr Poots was asked about the outcomes of the summit. He said that, as well as helping to develop standards for emergency nursing and review staffing levels, the RCN Emergency Care Network will become a stakeholder in a College of Emergency Medicine summit planned for April 9. Once again, this shows that emergency care staff are maintaining the momentum for change, striving for safer care for our patients. A whole-system change is needed, and we can take ownership of the development of standards and a highly skilled workforce to ensure that patients receive first-class care. We are the present and the future of emergency nursing. By continuing to meet policy makers, opinion formers and leaders in health and social care, we can influence and take the lead in policy development at a regional and national level. We are determined to improve emergency nursing, make it an exciting career choice for nurses, promote safer care and keep patients at the heart of everything we do. Roisin Devlin is a board member of RCN Northern Ireland and an emergency nurse practitioner at Ulster Hospital, Dundonald Linsey Sheerin is RCN Emergency Care Network Northern Ireland lead and lead nurse for emergency services at Northern Health and Social Care Trust April 2014 | Volume 22 | Number 1
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Emergency nurses: leading the development of national policy Roisin Devlin and Linsey Sheerin give their views on the latest moves to tackle poor care in Northern Ireland
EMERGENCY NURSE
Getty
FOR EMERGENCY nurses in Northern Ireland, the RCN emergency care summit in Belfast in February was not just another conference. It was imperative that our voices were heard loud and clear, and nobody wanted to leave the event feeling inspired only to become disillusioned or apathetic a week or two later. We knew we would have to keep up the momentum and make the summit a catalyst for change. The summit was attended by some of the most influential people in health and social care in Northern Ireland, including health minister Edwin Poots, chief nursing officer (CNO) Charlotte McArdle, chief medical officer (CMO) Michael McBride and permanent secretary at the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety Andrew McCormick, as well as directors of nursing, directors of acute services and the medical clinical leads of our emergency departments (EDs). The presence of all these important healthcare figures in one room signalled that, if change is going to happen, now is the time. We told Mr Poots and Ms McArdle that emergency nurses in Northern Ireland lack the preparation, support and development they need to provide consistently good care. A recent inspection of the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), the Northern Ireland equivalent of the Care Quality Commission, supports our claims in its finding that, because of under-staffing and the wrong skill mix, some nurses work beyond their competency levels. Emergency nurses welcomed Ms McArdle’s announcement that she will commission the Northern Ireland Practice
staff, and Mr Poots admitted that ‘some of the issues were not getting through to him’. Over the past weeks, leaders have affirmed that they had heard and understood the summit’s messages by meeting front line staff, and emergency nurses were delighted to see our CNO and CMO making impromptu visits to four of our major EDs recently.
and Education Council for Nursing and Midwifery (NIPEC) and RCN Emergency Care Network to devise professional standards and a career pathway for emergency nurses in Northern Ireland. The announcement indicates that leaders in health and social care in Northern Ireland are committed to investment in nurses’ development. The Faculty of Emergency Nursing (FEN) has developed an excellent competency and developmental framework that has yet to be used in Northern Ireland. We hope that Ms McArdle’s commission will build on FEN’s work and that of the RCN Emergency Care Association. We also hope that, with the support of the CNO and NIPEC, all health and social care trusts in Northern Ireland will recognise the importance of, and be accountable for, nurturing, supporting and developing emergency nurses. At the February summit, our healthcare leaders were asked to listen to front line
Outcomes During Northern Ireland Assembly question time, Mr Poots was asked about the outcomes of the summit. He said that, as well as helping to develop standards for emergency nursing and review staffing levels, the RCN Emergency Care Network will become a stakeholder in a College of Emergency Medicine summit planned for April 9. Once again, this shows that emergency care staff are maintaining the momentum for change, striving for safer care for our patients. A whole-system change is needed, and we can take ownership of the development of standards and a highly skilled workforce to ensure that patients receive first-class care. We are the present and the future of emergency nursing. By continuing to meet policy makers, opinion formers and leaders in health and social care, we can influence and take the lead in policy development at a regional and national level. We are determined to improve emergency nursing, make it an exciting career choice for nurses, promote safer care and keep patients at the heart of everything we do. Roisin Devlin is a board member of RCN Northern Ireland and an emergency nurse practitioner at Ulster Hospital, Dundonald Linsey Sheerin is RCN Emergency Care Network Northern Ireland lead and lead nurse for emergency services at Northern Health and Social Care Trust April 2014 | Volume 22 | Number 1
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