Make sure your voice is heard - message from nursing leaders

Four of the country’s most influential nursing figures including our own Director of Nursing have joined forces to support vital consultation on the future of the profession. They are:

Professor Lisa Bayliss-Pratt, Director of Nursing and Deputy Director of Education and Quality, Health Education England
Professor Jane Cummings, Chief Nursing Officer, England
Ruth May, Executive Director of Nursing, NHS Improvement, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer and National Director for Infection Prevention and Control
Hilary Garratt, Director of Nursing, NHS England and Deputy Chief Nursing Officer, England

Throughout the summer the Nursing and Midwifery Council has been seeking views on the proposed new standards of proficiency for the registered nurse.

The changes proposed are in response to the unique challenges we face day to day in our different places of work. The health and care landscape is changing at an unprecedented rate and it’s likely that these challenges will only become greater as the population continues to age and the need for more localised care grows.

The knowledge and skills that are required from registered nurses today are obviously very different from what was required ten years ago, and will continue to change into the future.

As a profession we are routinely working in multi-disciplinary environments and, as part of integrated teams; we are working more closely with other health and care professional colleagues. This has naturally led to an increase in the complexity of tasks nurses are now required to do, and the draft standards the NMC have proposed aim to reflect this ever-changing environment.

This is vital work that requires all of our input and it is important that nurses respond to the consultation so the NMC can collect a diverse range of opinions.

The NMC wants to future proof these standards, to make them fit for now as well as for the future. If you haven’t done so already please take the time to respond to the consultation. 

As senior leaders and nurses working in different roles and different settings, we ask that you discuss the standards in your organisations and within your teams. We also ask that education providers and practice learning environments work in partnership, and give some thought to how things might potentially work differently over the next 1 - 2 years and feed that in to the responses. 

The NMC consultation closes on the 12 September, please make sure your voice is heard and help shape the future of our profession.