Nursing and Midwifery Profession in Ireland

1. Nursing & Midwifery Profession
in Ireland
Visioning the Future
“Imagine”
Dr. Michael Shannon
Health Service Executive

2. Past Present and Future
Past is
Important
Present is
Reality
Future is
Significant

3. The Past

4. The Present
• Quality and Fairness: A Health System for You (2001a)
• Primary Care: A New Direction (2001b)
• A Strategy for Cancer Control in Ireland (2006a)
• A Vision for Change - Report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy
(2006b)
• Tackling Chronic Disease - A Policy Framework for the Management of
Chronic Diseases (2008a)
• Report of the Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance (2008b)
• Changing Cardiovascular Health: National Cardiovascular Strategy 2012-
2019 (2010a)
• Strategic Framework for Role Expansion for Nursing and Midwifery (2011a)
• A Strategy for Community Inclusion (HSE 2011a)
• The Nurses and Midwives Act 2011
• HIQA National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare (2012)

6. The Future
“Imagine”
?

16. Healthy Ireland

17. Aim & Principles of Reform
To help people remain healthy and to provide effective safe high quality
healthcare and personal social services to the people of Ireland
(Future Health, Nov 2012)
Keeping People
Healthy
Empowerment
Equity
Patient-
centredness
Efficiency and
Effectiveness
Regulation and
Patient Safety
Quality

18. *Money Follows the Patient Document- governance loop
DOH website
NEW
ISA
AREAS

19. Completely Transform Our Health System
3. Equal Care
A Single Tier UHI System
2. Higher Quality Care
Clinically Lead, Rigorous Performance
Management
1. A New Model of Care
Treatment at the Lowest Level of Complexity that is
Safe, Timely, Efficient and as Close to Home As
Possible

20. “When one door closes another door opens
but we so often look so long and so
regretfully upon the closed door, that we do
not see the ones which open for us.”
Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922);
Future

21. Health Context
• Shrinking Economy
• Shrinking Health Budget
• Health Reforms
• HIQA
• Croake Park - PSA
• Governance
• Performance Management
However, our overriding objectives currently and for the future
must be:
• To put patients first and provide high quality, safe patient care
• Strive, demonstrate and assure excellence in nursing and midwifery
care
These will and have to continue to be a central pillar of our
future health system
It is critical that:
 Nursing & Midwifery, Educationalists and Policy Makers engage in

22. Why bother with the Future?
“The future belongs to the unreasonable
ones, the ones who look forward not
backward, who are certain only of
uncertainty, and who have the ability and
the confidence to think completely
differently”
Charles Handy quoting Bernard Shaw

23. Nursing & Midwifery
Challenging Perspectives

24. Nurses and midwives are probably as fearful about what
the future holds in store for them now like never before!
How should patients/clients be cared for?
How much nursing and midwifery care should be
provided?
Who should the care providers be?
What should our nursing and midwifery workforce
look like?
What then is nursing and midwifery care?
What are the cost implications?
How do we provide assurance?
How do instil public confidence?
How do we ensure key partners with other
professionals?

25. Future Nursing and Midwifery Leadership
 We need to be proud of our clinical and
operational focus We need to look at nursing &
midwifery in the context of health policy and
planning
 We need to form real partnerships between health
services, communities and public
 We need to be concerned with both bottom-up
and top - down leadership
 We need to be able to differentiate debate from
dissent and disagreement from disunity
 We need to function in effective teams
 We need to ensure clear governance structures

26. Strategic Focus
 The nursing and midwifery profession in Ireland must keep pace with
a rapidly changing environment where patient safety, satisfaction,
quality and efficiency are equal priorities
 Leadership development, innovation and creativity are key
ingredients to facilitating the development of the profession
 Governance, role clarity, role expansion and skill mix are pivotal
drivers for success
 Key Performance/ Business Management Indicators
 These “ingredients” will enhance patient care through the leadership
of the nursing and midwifery profession over the next 5 years

27. Future Key Messages
1. Nurses and Midwives are at the front line in
ensuring that care is delivered safely, effectively,
and compassionately – NEVER FORGET
2. Grasp the opportunities to lead the nursing and
midwifery profession in the improvement and
redesign of the health care system and its practice
environment
3. Nurses and Midwives should practice to the full
extent of their education and training

28. Future Key Messages
4. Nurses and Midwives should achieve higher
levels of education and training through education
system that promotes seamless academic
progression
5. Nurses and Midwives should be full partners, with
physicians and other health care professionals, in
redesigning health care reform
6. Effective workforce planning and policy making
require better data collection and an improved
information infrastructure

29. What will Survive as Healthcare Changes
1. Putting patients first
2. Clear ethical values
3. Being clear about our mission
4. Robust governance
5. Constantly trying to improve
6. Basing what we do on evidence
7. Clinical Leadership
8. Learning and professional development

30. Conclusion
“We need nursing and midwifery traditions not
only to know whom we are
but to know who we can become”.
Nursing and midwifery has and should continue to take a
strong and active leadership role in current and future
health care delivery
BUT
• We need to re-think and be CONSISTENTLY
CLEAR what our Nursing and Midwifery leaders might
look like and who they might be

31. • The profession must keep pace with a rapidly changing
environment where patient safety, satisfaction, quality and
efficiency are equal priorities
• Leadership development, innovation and creativity are key
ingredients to facilitating the development of the profession
in the future
• Governance, role clarity, role expansion and skill mix are
pivotal drivers for success
• These “ingredients” will enhance patient care through the
leadership of the nursing and midwifery profession over the
next 5 years

32. The Florence Nightingale Foundation
“ For us who nurse, our nursing is a
thing, which, unless we are making
progress every year, every month, every
week, take my word for it, we are going
back”

33. Thank You