Published: 19 February 2008
Pen Pushers plot end of dedicated Health Visitors despite many being Over-worked
The end of health visiting as a specialist career in England is on the cards if proposals in a Department of Health consultation document are adopted, Unite/Community Practitioners’ and Health Visitors’ Association has warned.
Unite/CPHVA fears that the proposals will dilute the specialist professions currently covered by post graduate education, such as health visitors.
Unite/CPHVA said the proposals contained in Towards a Framework for Post Registration Nursing Career rely on a 'pick & mix' system of skills and competencies rather than a well structured, evidence-based course.
In its response, Unite/CPHVA said:
“The proposed framework does not provide a career pathway for the nurse who wishes to progress his/her career in terms of specialist practice whether this be a health visitor, district nurse, school nurse or community children’s nurse”.
Unite/CPHVA Professional Officer, Rita Newland said:
“What this will mean in every day terms is that families and communities may not receive the level of specialist community nursing care they currently enjoy in the future.
In the years to come, the work of health visitors and other community nurse specialists may be carried out by nurses who are not so well-qualified – and this should be a matter that concerns the public. And we are flagging up these concerns in our response to government”.
The DH are formulating these plans despite health visitors, such as those in Waltham Forest, being the ‘most stressed’ group of the primary care trust’s (PCT) workforce, according to official NHS figures.
Earlier this month, Unite/the Community Practitioners’ and Health Visitors’ Association exposed the fact that the health of families in the North East London borough were being adversely hit by the 40% cut to the health visiting workforce in the last eight years.
According to the NHS National Staff Survey (2006), 60% of health visitors working for Waltham Forest (PCT) suffered work related stress in the previous 12 months – the highest category in the workforce. They were followed by general managers on 54%.
The survey carried out by the Healthcare Commission, also showed that:
· nearly all the health visitors (97%) were working extra hours on top of their contracted hours, and
· that a third of health visitors had experienced harassment, bullying and abuse from other PCT staff in the previous 12 months – again, the highest category
Unite Head of Health, Kevin Coyne said:
“These figures from such a respected source further reinforce our case that the savage cuts to the health visiting workforce during the last eight years has taken its toll on not just the health of Waltham Forest families, but the health visitors themselves”.
Unite/CPHVA has written to the trust’s Chief Executive, Sally Gorham this week calling for urgent talks to restore the number of health visitors to the 2002 figure of 35 whole time equivalents (WTEs) from the current figure of 26.
Unite/CPHVA is also approaching local MPs, Neil Gerrard (Walthamstow) and Harry Cohen (Leyton and Wanstead) to brief them on the situation which Unite/CPHVA believes is so serious that that ‘another Victoria Climbie is on the cards’.
Health visitors in the borough have identified cases of rickets, degenerative neurological conditions, poor diet, immunisations of babies being missed, and postnatal depression that have not been picked up soon enough because of the lack of health visitors.
All this despite the fact that it was only back in September 2007 that Health Secretary Alan Johnson pledged that more health visitors were on the cards at the Labour Party conference, saying: ‘And we need more specialist nurses and health visitors to tackle public health issues in deprived communities.’
Further information
CPHVA – Facing the Future documents
Towards a Framework for Post Registration Nursing Career
NHS National Staff Survey (2006)
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