The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) has published its ‘essential’ list of priorities for the new government to target within health and care.
The five priorities aim to address the demand for more community-based care and focus on the prevention of physical decline alongside the management of long-term health conditions.
This comes after the Labour Party pledged to ‘shift resources to primary care’ as part of its 2024 election commitments, to ‘bring together’ existing services including district nurses, mental health specialists and GPs ‘under one roof’.
QNI priorities for new government
1. Proactive management of long-term conditions to prevent unnecessary admission to hospital
2. Manage frailty and preventable deterioration amongst care home residents
3. A public health strategy to address health inequalities and the big issues faced by society
4. Improve end-of-life care for all ages
5. Access to services for people with mental health problems of all ages.
Preventing hospital admissions
The charity’s first priority is the ‘proactive management of long-term conditions to prevent unnecessary admission to hospital’.
As part of this, the QNI has called for investment into education and training ‘through a fully funded workforce plan to ensure that the community nursing workforce, in all its forms, is restored to pre-austerity levels within a decade’.
While community nurses in general practice and community health services play a significant role in managing long-term conditions, there are concerns over workforce numbers.
This includes that the number of district nurses has reduced by almost 50% since 2010, as the revealed in the QNI’s ‘District Nursing Today’ report, published last month.
Separately, a recent roundtable hosted by Nursing in Practice heard from practice nurses who highlighted the need for increased opportunities, training and the ‘time and space’ to support patients with long-term conditions.
Managing frailty
The QNI has also urged the government to ‘manage frailty and preventable deterioration’ among care home residents.
As part of this, the charity wants to see every care home resident have access to an advanced nurse practitioner who specialises in adult social care by 2030.
It added that advanced practice nursing roles must be developed to ‘ensure residents in all nursing homes have access to specialist care which prevents deterioration and manages frailty’.
Last week, Nursing in Practice exclusively reported how experienced ANPs are struggling to find jobs in general practice because of a digital badge accreditation scheme that has been described as ‘discriminatory’ and ‘deeply flawed’.
We also exclusively shared the experiences of a community ANP who is currently on sick leave and questioning their future in the health service, having been rejected by the badge scheme, despite over 30 years’ nursing experience.
Public health strategy
The QNI’s third priority is the development of ‘a public health strategy to address health inequalities and the big issues faced by society’.
The charity has called on the government to ‘develop and implement a public health strategy for England’, which especially targets ‘obesity, smoking and physical inactivity’.
Within this, the QNI wants ministers to ‘recognise’ the role played by public health nurses, health visitors and occupational health nurses and others, ‘to make a healthier society’.
It has also called for all communities to have access to ‘core’ public health nursing practitioners.
In March the QNI, College of Medicine and the School and Public Health Nurses Association (SAPHNA) teamed up to campaign for ‘a nurse in every school.’
Labour has pledged to impose limits on junk food advertising aimed at children, and also committed to enforce a ‘wide range of physical activities’ as part of the new national curriculum as part of its child health action plan.
Improving end-of-life care
The QNI’s fourth priority is for end-of-life care to be improved.
It said the government could fulfil people’s wishes of dying at home rather than at hospital by ‘strengthening’ the end of-life workforce, including district nurses, community children’s nurses and hospice staff.
Mental health support for all
For its final priority, the QNI has asked for increased mental health services ‘at a variety of different levels’ including in schools, workplaces and specialist environments for those with enduring mental health issues.
The charity wants to see for greater recognition of the ‘contribution school nurses, community mental health nurses and others make to first line mental health services and ongoing support for individuals with enduring problems’.
Labour has previously said it will introduce specialist mental health support for children and young people in every school and establish ‘Young Futures hubs’ in every community to provide children with preventative mental health support.
It has also committed to recruit 8,500 specially trained staff across childand adolescent mental health services and NHS talk therapies, all within its child health action plan.
Commenting on the priorities Dr Crystal Oldman, QNI chief executive, said: ‘The QNI and the community nurses we work with have a wealth of experience in planning and delivering health services to people across the lifespan.
‘Community nurses see the real effects of national policies – good and bad – on the health and wellbeing of the people they support and care for.’
She added that the QNI’s priorities for the government were ‘based on this experience, and evidence collated from nurses at all levels in the health and care system’.
‘We look forward to working with the new government to help inform and design healthcare policies that are effective, fair and sustainable,’ added Dr Oldman.
Last week, the DHSC confirmed the appointment of two new ministers – one for health and one for social care.
Earlier this year, Nursing in Practice launched its manifesto for general practice nursing in 2024, which covers workforce, terms and conditions, the management of long-term conditions, health inequalities, public health, mental health and vaccinations, among other key topics.
