Theresa Ahearn
Ceist:77 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Health and Children the timeframe within which he will implement each of the proposals contained in the report of the Commission on Nursing; and the progress made to date. [26867/99]
Written Answers. - Nursing Staff.
Alan Shatter
Ceist:139 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Health and Children the timeframe within which he will implement each of the proposals contained in the report of the Commission on Nursing; and the progress made to date. [27179/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 77 and 139 together.
The report of the Commission on Nursing, A Blueprint for the Future, contains over 200 wide-ranging recommendations for addressing the underlying problems within the nursing profession and developing the role of nurses and midwives in the health services.
At the launch of the commission's report in September 1998, I gave a commitment on behalf of the Government to take immediate action in a number of priority areas in response to the commission's recommendations. In spite of the recent industrial relations difficulties, real progress has been made in the following areas: draft legislative proposals to amend the Nurses Act, 1985, are in the course of preparation in my Department; a nursing education forum has been established to prepare the ground for moving pre-registration nursing education to a four year degree programme; funding has been provided for the establishment of a nursing andmidwifery planning and development unit in each health board area; the nursing policy division of my Department has been strengthened through the appointment of additional nurse advisors on a contract basis; and the clinicians in management initiative involving nurses in the management of the health services has been launched.
As part of the settlement of the recent nurses' strike, my Department has reached agreement with the alliance of nursing unions on a structured programme for the phased implementation of the commission's report. An agreed action plan has been prepared setting out the objectives to be achieved over the next two years. These include the development of new roles and grading structures within nursing which will enhance the profession of nursing, improve service delivery, and help to address concerns among nurses about their relative lack of promotional outlets. The action plan will also address other important issues affecting the nursing profession, such as the empowerment of nurses and midwives, post-registration education and development, and the whole area of skill mix and effective use of the professional skills of nurses. I am arranging to have a copy of the action plan sent to the Deputy for her information.
A key feature of the action plan is the establishment of the national council for the professional development of nursing and midwifery, recommended by the Commission on Nursing. This new body is a necessary prerequisite to the creation of clinical nurse-midwife specialist and advanced nurse/midwife practitioner posts. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that I have now established the national council and appointed the membership of it. This will facilitate the development of the 1,250 clinical specialist posts recommended by the Labour Court, as well as the implementation of a number of objectives set out in the action plan. Progress has also been made already in relation to other elements of the action plan, including arrangements for an increase of some 300 nursing student training places next year, the introduction of a pilot direct entry midwifery education programme in summer 2000, and a doubling of the theoretical component, from 13 to 26 weeks, of the current post-registration midwifery programme.
The Health Estimate for 2000 includes a sum of £10 million for the implementation of the action plan. This is in addition to the £16 million full year cost that will be made available to finance the development of the various new posts recommended by the Labour Court in the context of the implementation of the Commission on Nursing report.
While all of the recommendations of the commission are important, it is accepted by all the relevant interest groups, including the nursing unions, that they cannot all be implemented at once. Accordingly, it is intended that further action plans would be prepared to provide for the implementation of the remaining recommendations over agreed timeframes.