CNO Newsletter March 2011 - Department of Health, Social ...

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NEWSNursing and MidwiferyCouncil UpdateAdvice and information for employers ofnurses and midwives.The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)has produced a booklet that sets out the keyresponsibilities for employers of the UK’s 660,000registered nurses and midwives. The bookletintroduces employers, not all of whom will be a nurseor midwife, to the NMC, and informs employers abouttheir responsibilities for making sure their nursesand midwives continue to meet the registrationrequirements and are fit to practise.NMC Chief Executive and Registrar, ProfessorDickon Weir-Hughes said: “Not everyone involved inthe employment of nurses and midwives will be anurse or midwife themselves so we need to makesure everyone understands our role and the jointresponsibility we share in ensuring the health andwellbeing of the public.The way in which healthcare is delivered is changing,particularly as more care is moved into the community.Employers are responsible for the conduct andperformance of their staff and will need to developnew and innovative ways to ensure their nursesand midwives receive regular appraisals and thateducation and training opportunities are madeavailable”.Fitness to Practice ReferralsThe guide also informs employers about the processfor referring someone to the NMC for investigation.“Our role is not to punish nurses and midwives. Ourrole is to safeguard the health and wellbeing of thepublic from nurses and midwives whose fitness topractise is impaired and whose situation cannot bemanaged locally. This new guide will help employersto identify when they should be referring someoneto us for investigation and when they should bemanaging these issues through their own disciplinaryprocedures.”Raising and escalating concerns.Guidance for nurses and midwivesEvery registered nurse and midwife in the UK hasbeen sent information about how to raise and escalateconcerns about the safety or wellbeing of people intheir care.The NMC has produced guidance underpinned by theprinciples set out in the Code: Standards of conduct,performance and ethics for nurses and midwivesand Guidance on professional conduct for nursingand midwifery students. The raising and escalatingconcerns booklet is for all nurses, midwives and preregistrationnursing and midwifery students. It willestablish principles for best practice in the raising andescalating of concerns and aims to complement localwhistle blowing policies and safeguarding procedures.NMC has developed a specific section on their websiteto provide further information. This can be accessedfrom www.nmc-uk.org and explains the processesthat should be followed and provides informationabout the legislation in this area and indicates whereconfidential support and advice can be accessed.Commenting on the new guidance, NMC ChiefExecutive and Registrar, Professor Dickon Weir-Hughes said: “Poor care must never be tolerated. Thisnew guidance will support nurses and midwives toeffectively manage risk and empower them to speakout on behalf of the people and families in theircare. However raising a concern is only the first step.This guidance will only be effective if managers andsenior staff are committed to a culture that openlyencourages people to raise concerns. I encouragenursing and midwifery leaders to be proactive in theirapproach to disseminating the guidance to their staffand urge them to nominate a champion to lead onimplementing the guidance across their organisation.”(For further information on regulation of theprofessions see back page for details)10
Perinatal Mental Health LaunchOn the 9th December MichaelMcGimpsey, Minister for HealthSocial Services and Public Safetylaunched a training programme fordetection of women with mentalhealth problems during pregnancy.This regional programme is initiallytargeted at midwives but will berolled out to other professionsincluding health visitors andmedical staff. The programmewas developed by the RegionalPerinatal Mental Health Forum,a multi-disciplinary group ofprofessionals established topromote evidence-based practicein perinatal mental health throughstrategic discussions, workshops,training and conferences inconjunction with the BeechesManagement Centre. Set up byDr Janine Lynch a ConsultantPsychiatrist from the BelfastTrust and Shona Hamilton aMidwife Teacher at the BeechesManagement Centre they workedtogether to develop a one daytraining programme for midwivesin response to changes in thequestions midwives ask women attheir booking visit regarding theirmental health.Launching the programme theMinister said, “The quality ofcare that women receive duringpregnancy, at birth and in the earlyweeks after birth influences boththe health of the mother and oftheir babies. Midwives have animportant part to play in this, andneed to be sensitive to and awareof the mental health needs of themother.”Dr Margaret Oates OBE, a leadingexpert in the area of perinatalmental health and Dr Michael McBride, Chief Medical Officer alsospoke at the launch.L to R: Dr Janine Lynch, Michael McGimpsey (Health Minister) Dr MargaretOates and Shona Hamilton.NEW LEAD AHP OFFICER STARTS IN THE DEPARTMENTPauline Mulholland has been recently appointed towork in the Department as Lead AHP Officer. Paulinetakes responsibility for professional issues affecting theAllied Health Professions across the HSC.Pauline took up her secondment on 17 January and willbe in post for a 12-month period. Previously Paulinewas the Lead Dietitian for the South Eastern Trustbased at the Ulster Hospital.Pauline’s immediate priority is to oversee thedevelopment and publication of an AHP Strategy forNorthern Ireland. Pauline has said she is lookingforward to the challenges over the year ahead.Commenting on her appointment,Martin Bradley (CNO) said“Pauline comes to theDepartment with a strong trackrecord of achievement andbrings a wealth of knowledgeto this post. She is held in highregard by her professionalcolleagues both here inNorthern Ireland and acrossthe UK. I am looking forwardto working with Paulineand developing closer tiesbetween the AHP and nursing workforce.”Pauline can be contacted by phone (9052 0722) or by email (pauline.mulholland@dhsspsni.gov.uk)11
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Page 13 and 14: CNO Visits Downpatrick andLaganVall
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Page 22 and 23: NEWSOBITUARYMiss Doreen McCullough
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