Nurses to receive leadership training
- Published: 14 July 2008 16:15
- Last Updated: 14 July 2008 16:15
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NURSES should be given more opportunities to take leadership roles, according to the NHS Next Stage Review.
Junior health minister Lord Darzi has set out a number of policies intended to ensure that NHS staff can have their own say in how services should be run.
The policy draws on a pledge in the draft NHS constitution that staff should be engaged in the decisions that affect them. Lord Darzi said nurse managers should be given authority and control over resources to create safer and cleaner wards with a better patient experience.
Nurses will be taught leadership skills as undergraduates and, as their career progresses,
these skills will be reinforced through training and appraisals. A new three-level Leadership
for Quality certificate will also be introduced.
The top 250 leaders in the NHS, both clinical and non-clinical, will be identified by an NHS Leadership Council and given support in career development.
RCN general secretary Peter Carter said he welcomed the fact that in the future the NHS would have a 'culture where nurse leaders are supported
and empowered to effect meaningful change'.
What is the NHS Next Stage Review? High Quality Care For All sets out the government's latest plans for reforming the health service. It is the final report of NHS Next Stage Review and is also commonly referred to as the 'Darzi report'. The report, published last week, has been drawn up over the last 12 months, with input from 2,000 clinicians and 60,000 patients. Accompanying the main report is a separate document on how NHS workforce and training is to be developed, called A High Quality Workforce, and a draft version of the new NHS Constitution, which is intended to enshrine the principles of the health service for patients and staff. All documents can be downloaded from the Department of Health website at www.dh.gov.uk |
