15 October 2009
Children and young people from across the East Midlands will take centre stage at Twycross Zoo to influence the Prime Minister’s Commission on the Future of Nursing and Midwifery in England.
This one-off, unique event is being organised by NHS East Midlands in partnership with the School Development Support Agency (SDSA) and Wotbox Consultants. It will offer nearly 100 children and young people the chance to put their views on nurses and midwives to Health Minister and Chair of the Commission, Ann Keen, along with other key health professionals nationally and regionally.
The Prime Minister’s Commission has been established to explore the future of nursing as a profession and the roles nurses can play in leading and managing health services. The day, held on behalf of the Commission, will uncover exactly what children and young people from a wide range of backgrounds want from nurses and whether this is an attractive career option for young people today.
It forms part of a series of deliberative events being held across the country to engage interactively with different audiences to gather views on three key areas:
- the knowledge, skills and attributes of the ‘ideal’ nurse or midwife;
- what they could do more of or differently in the future
- and what might be preventing some of these actions from happening now.
The programme for the day will offer the children and young people the chance to put questions to nursing experts, followed by group activities where opinions will be collated on what nurses do, where they work and their key characteristics. The collective thoughts from the day will be delivered to the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street after the event.
Dame Catherine Elcoat, Director of Patient Care for NHS East Midlands said: “We are very proud to be the region talking to children and young people on behalf of the Commission, feeding back their important views about nurses and midwives.
“These contributions will have a significant role in shaping the future of nursing and midwifery in England and will build on the highly regarded roles nurses and midwives already have in our health service.”
Ann Keen MP, Health Minister and Chair of the Commission said: “It is very important with over 11 million children and young people in the UK that their views influence the future of nursing and midwifery.
“In their early years children and young people access healthcare more often and some may have spent considerable time being cared for by a nurse. Children and young people also represent the next generation who will continue to access and potentially work in our health service. Therefore it’s essential we explore the role nurses and nursing play in their lives to have a better and more informed understanding of what matters to them.”
This engagement phase will continue through the autumn encouraging further views, discussion and debate ahead of the publication of the final report the Commission will present to the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and Health Secretary, Andy Burnham in the New Year.
