Bedbugs and consultants are bleeding us dry
Call for 'fast track' recruitment of health visitors and more male school nurses
More men should be encouraged to become school nurses and health visiting should have a new “fast track” entry scheme, according to the union Unite.
The proposals are included in the union’s submission to the Prime Minister’s Commission on the Future of Nursing and Midwifery, in which it highlighted the continuing workforce problems in both health visiting and school nursing.
The number of new health visitors joining the register fell from 717 in 2004 to just 253 in 2008, while the NHS now employs fewer than 900 whole-time equivalent school nurses, according to Unite.
It said it was essential that the commission supported a new fast track route into health visiting, which would reduce the requirement to spend three years training as a nurse for potential health visitors. It suggested that this would appeal to mature entrants, and to those with degrees in subjects, such as psychology and life sciences.
Additionally, Unite said that one possible way to overcome the shortage of school nurses “would be to encourage more men to become school nurses, with the job role more clearly defined”.
Unite lead professional officer for policy and external affairs Obi Amadi said: “The picture is bleak. However, we have put forward a number of positive recommendations that would revitalise the health visiting and school nurse professions, at a time when the public is rightly concerned about child protection issues in the aftermath of the tragic case of Baby P.”
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Readers' comments (1)
Anonymous | 24-Aug-2009 11:45 am
I cannot believe that a fast track for men is being proposed? Why should men be given positive discrimination? I believe there is a shortage of Health Visitors generally so you need to recruit both women AND men. You are asking for trouble with inexperienced health visitors and potential child safety issues if you fast track training. We see far too much clinical inexperience coming out of nurse training so you will be addding to this inexperience if you fast track health visiting on top of this. Does the Union not take into account serious issues such as baby P etc?
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