Children and young people’s nursing: why community is key
The 10 Year Health Plan for England seeks to reinvent the NHS, and one key change for children and young people’s nursing is to establish neighbourhood multidisciplinary teams. The plan also commits to increasing nurse consultant numbers, particularly in the context of neighbourhood service provision. Community children’s nurses will need to make a case at a local level to establish nurse consultant posts as well as ensuring they integrate fully with neighbourhood multidisciplinary teams for the benefit of children and young people’s healthcare
The NHS plan to establish neighbourhood multidisciplinary teams provides opportunities for community children’s nurses to boost nurse consultant numbers locally
This year saw the launch of the 10 Year Health Plan for England with its stated intention to ‘reinvent the NHS’.
There are planned developments in three areas: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital and from sickness to prevention. While these are described as ‘radical shifts’, each of these themes have featured prominently in NHS strategic plans stretching back over several decades, most recently in 2014 in the Five Year Forward View.
One key change for children and young people nursing however is establishing neighbourhood multidisciplinary teams (MDTs). MDTs will consist of a core team of a GP, paediatrician and mental health professional, supported by health visitors, school nurses, allied health professionals, social workers and community children’s nurses.
‘In the plan there is a commitment to increase nurse consultant numbers, particularly in the context of neighbourhood service provision’
A position statement on community children’s nursing by the Association of British Paediatric Nurses has, however, raised concerns that previous restructuring of children and young people’s health services has, in many instances, resulted in 'disinvestment and the loss of integrated service delivery’. The new NHS plan must address these issues as a priority.
Opportunities for community children’s nurses
In the plan there is a commitment to increase nurse consultant numbers, particularly in the context of neighbourhood service provision. The plan also proposes expanding research opportunities for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals, with the National Institute for Health Research Academy providing more dedicated funding opportunities and stronger academic and research leadership support and training.
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Community children’s nurses need to prepare the ground and make a case at a local level to establish nurse consultant posts and for such posts to lead the way in developing and extending the research underpinnings and evidence base to support practice.
Key to this will be the ability of community children’s nursing teams to integrate more fully with neighbourhood MDTs and more widely in children and young people’s health services to support infants, children and young people in receiving care and help at home or closer to home.
Further information
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