Opinion
Reviews From SRN to CBE: Celebrating 50 Remarkable Years in Nursing Mary Spinks Quay Books 128pp | £12.99 ISBN: 9781856425070
BOOKS ABOUT ‘nursing in the good old days’ are plentiful. But this autobiography is different, and all the more interesting for it. It is an account written by a nurse who rose rapidly through the ranks to become a regional nursing officer until she was, as she puts it, ‘kicked out of the NHS’ by major management changes in the 1980s and 1990s. The introduction of general management following the 1983 Griffiths report brought a premature end to the careers of many talented nurse leaders.
Mary Spinks’s experience was by no means unique, but this is a rare attempt to document events from the perspective of one who was there. It is important that it is read by those who did not notice their struggle to protect nursing and care. Mary’s contribution to theatre nursing was considerable. She documents how, following the 1971 Lewin report, which said ‘nurses and operating department assistants at appropriate level are interchangeable’, sacrilege to many theatre nurses, she investigated how integration could be achieved and helped to develop training programmes. There are lessons here for the current controversies about the role and training of support workers in other fields of nursing. After leaving the health service, Mary channelled her passion for nursing as director of the Florence Nightingale Foundation. In 2010, her work was recognised by her being made a CBE. June Clark , professor emeritus, Swansea University
NHS Do OD app Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, optimised for iPhone 5 and android Free www.nhsemployers.org
DO OD was created by NHS Employers, in partnership with the NHS Leadership Academy, to support organisational and system-wide change in the NHS. This app is the first national resource for organisational development (OD) practitioners in the NHS, with tools and guidance to help with culture change. It asks questions that will help individuals and teams to identify areas of strengths and development. Visual representations of the responses are provided, as well as an invitation to share any thoughts and ideas that the app has generated. Helena Soni is a practice nurse in London
International outlook
Why not learn some lessons from the past? ‘THERE HAS been huge growth in active international recruitment of nurses to the UK in recent years driven by nursing shortages… It is now apparent that the continuing need to maintain or increase nurse staffing levels has created a situation where international recruitment is routine to many health care employers’ recruitment and retention strategies.’ This comment comes from a report commissioned by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) more than a decade ago (Buchan 2003), but it could have been written today. It is clear to anyone in the service that the NHS is experiencing an acute shortage of registered nurses and that little has changed since the college published its Frontline First report (RCN 2013) showing that 22% of the English NHS trusts surveyed were actively recruiting internationally. The NHS is turning largely to other countries in Europe, but also to more 12 March 2015 | Volume 21 | Number 10
traditional recruitment grounds such as the Philippines to fill the gaps. This is all happening against a backdrop of changes to the registration processes for nurses coming to the UK from outside Europe and forthcoming changes to European Union (EU) registrations including stricter language controls. In addition, over the next two years, changes to the immigration rules are going to affect many nurses from outside the EU currently working in the UK (RCN Immigration Advisory Service 2014). The RCN is concerned that many lessons from past shortages are not being learned. We are still failing to plan effectively or finance our future nursing workforce, for example through greater investment in education commissions and retaining experienced nurses. That said, as the number of nurses coming from outside the UK increases,
we need to ensure that they are treated fairly, rather than as numbers to plug a gap, and properly inducted and integrated into the UK healthcare systems. This is why the RCN has issued a position statement on international recruitment and mobility that also documents the UK’s involvement in recruiting nurses across the globe over the past 15 years, the key issues and the role the RCN has played (RCN 2015). References Buchan J (2003) Here to Stay? International Nurses in the UK. Royal College of Nursing, London. tinyurl.com/y55f37b Royal College of Nursing (2013) Frontline First: Running the Red Light. RCN, London. tinyurl.com/lujweks Royal College of Nursing (2015) Position Statement on Ethical International Recruitment. RCN, London. RCN Immigration Advisory Service (2014) General Update: Tier 2 Holders and Indefinite Leave to Remain. tinyurl.com/ m2tr58p
Susan Williams is a senior international adviser at the RCN NURSING MANAGEMENT
Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 25, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Reviews From SRN to CBE: Celebrating 50 Remarkable Years in Nursing Mary Spinks Quay Books 128pp | £12.99 ISBN: 9781856425070
BOOKS ABOUT ‘nursing in the good old days’ are plentiful. But this autobiography is different, and all the more interesting for it. It is an account written by a nurse who rose rapidly through the ranks to become a regional nursing officer until she was, as she puts it, ‘kicked out of the NHS’ by major management changes in the 1980s and 1990s. The introduction of general management following the 1983 Griffiths report brought a premature end to the careers of many talented nurse leaders.
Mary Spinks’s experience was by no means unique, but this is a rare attempt to document events from the perspective of one who was there. It is important that it is read by those who did not notice their struggle to protect nursing and care. Mary’s contribution to theatre nursing was considerable. She documents how, following the 1971 Lewin report, which said ‘nurses and operating department assistants at appropriate level are interchangeable’, sacrilege to many theatre nurses, she investigated how integration could be achieved and helped to develop training programmes. There are lessons here for the current controversies about the role and training of support workers in other fields of nursing. After leaving the health service, Mary channelled her passion for nursing as director of the Florence Nightingale Foundation. In 2010, her work was recognised by her being made a CBE. June Clark , professor emeritus, Swansea University
NHS Do OD app Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, optimised for iPhone 5 and android Free www.nhsemployers.org
DO OD was created by NHS Employers, in partnership with the NHS Leadership Academy, to support organisational and system-wide change in the NHS. This app is the first national resource for organisational development (OD) practitioners in the NHS, with tools and guidance to help with culture change. It asks questions that will help individuals and teams to identify areas of strengths and development. Visual representations of the responses are provided, as well as an invitation to share any thoughts and ideas that the app has generated. Helena Soni is a practice nurse in London
International outlook
Why not learn some lessons from the past? ‘THERE HAS been huge growth in active international recruitment of nurses to the UK in recent years driven by nursing shortages… It is now apparent that the continuing need to maintain or increase nurse staffing levels has created a situation where international recruitment is routine to many health care employers’ recruitment and retention strategies.’ This comment comes from a report commissioned by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) more than a decade ago (Buchan 2003), but it could have been written today. It is clear to anyone in the service that the NHS is experiencing an acute shortage of registered nurses and that little has changed since the college published its Frontline First report (RCN 2013) showing that 22% of the English NHS trusts surveyed were actively recruiting internationally. The NHS is turning largely to other countries in Europe, but also to more 12 March 2015 | Volume 21 | Number 10
traditional recruitment grounds such as the Philippines to fill the gaps. This is all happening against a backdrop of changes to the registration processes for nurses coming to the UK from outside Europe and forthcoming changes to European Union (EU) registrations including stricter language controls. In addition, over the next two years, changes to the immigration rules are going to affect many nurses from outside the EU currently working in the UK (RCN Immigration Advisory Service 2014). The RCN is concerned that many lessons from past shortages are not being learned. We are still failing to plan effectively or finance our future nursing workforce, for example through greater investment in education commissions and retaining experienced nurses. That said, as the number of nurses coming from outside the UK increases,
we need to ensure that they are treated fairly, rather than as numbers to plug a gap, and properly inducted and integrated into the UK healthcare systems. This is why the RCN has issued a position statement on international recruitment and mobility that also documents the UK’s involvement in recruiting nurses across the globe over the past 15 years, the key issues and the role the RCN has played (RCN 2015). References Buchan J (2003) Here to Stay? International Nurses in the UK. Royal College of Nursing, London. tinyurl.com/y55f37b Royal College of Nursing (2013) Frontline First: Running the Red Light. RCN, London. tinyurl.com/lujweks Royal College of Nursing (2015) Position Statement on Ethical International Recruitment. RCN, London. RCN Immigration Advisory Service (2014) General Update: Tier 2 Holders and Indefinite Leave to Remain. tinyurl.com/ m2tr58p
Susan Williams is a senior international adviser at the RCN NURSING MANAGEMENT
Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 25, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
