Health and Social Care Policy and the Interprofessional ... - CAIPE

of opinion that interprofessional, interagency working is the only way forward,
Wanless concludes his exploration of the workforce issues by commenting
‘although the number of health care professionals is important for the capacity
of the system, arguably the way the workforce is used is even more important’
(ibid: 204).
The Kennedy Report
In 2001 perhaps the most significant and far-reaching Inquiry into the way the
systems can fail to protect the community it purports to serve was published
(DH, 2001c). Commissioned by the then Secretary of State in 1998 the
Inquiry took three years to complete. Generally referred to as the Kennedy
Report, it focuses on the poor quality of children’s heart surgery and its
consequent high mortality rates at Bristol Royal Infirmary between 1984 and
1995. The Report acts as a wake up call for all and was subsequently
described by the Government as ‘a turning point in the history of the NHS’
(ibid: 13). The Inquiry was wide ranging and far reaching, with the then
Secretary of State, Alan Milburn observing in his foreword that ‘the Report
provides a powerful analysis of the flaws and failures of the organisation and
culture, not only at the BRI in the years in question, but of the wider NHS at
that time’. Kennedy and his team made 198 recommendations, most of which
were accepted unreservedly by the Government and were implemented as
quickly as possible.
A number of these recommendations can only be achieved through truly
interprofessional, interagency practise an example being No19 which states
‘Healthcare professionals responsible for the care of any particular patient
must communicate effectively with each other. The aim must be to avoid
giving the patient conflicting advice and information’ (ibid: 439).
The Government’s response to this is also worth quoting in full: ‘We agree.
Our communications initiative will ensure patients are at the centre of care
and the focus of team working and interprofessional care. Health care
professionals will develop these skills through joint learning and working at all
levels of the NHS (DH 2002a: 138).
Recommendations 57, 58, 59, 60 and 61 of the Government’s response to the
Kennedy Report continue in similar vein with references being made to the
need for ‘shared learning across professional boundaries’ (57) a call for core
competences in non-clinical aspects of care to be learned ‘as part of a
common learning approach across professions’ (58) with a particular
emphasis being made on communications skills which the Government
accepts as ‘a core feature of professional training’ (59) which would be
addressed in a new initiative encompassing all NHS staff. To reinforce the
importance placed on communication skills, Recommendations 60 and 61 are
explicit ‘communication skills must also include the ability to engage with and
respect the views of fellow healthcare professionals’ (60) with the
acknowledgement that ‘the education, training and continuing professional
development of all healthcare professionals should include joint courses
between the professions’ (61)
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