Nursing and midwifery service overhaul

An overhaul of nursing and midwifery will be taking place to improve the quality of care to women during pregnancy and childbirth.

New goals have been set out in the Prime Minister’s Commission on the Future of Nursing and Midwifery.

In its initial early stages, healthcare professionals have been consulted through the summer to shape its direction.

Health Minister and Commission Chair Ann Keen said: “In our vision nurses and midwives are ordinary people who do extraordinary things – there is so much untapped potential waiting to be unleashed. The Prime Minister has said he wants to see nurses and midwives in control and at the heart of the team leading on quality and safety.

“The majority of nurses and midwives already do a fantastic job working with people who use NHS service, families and communities to care for the sick, promote health and wellbeing, prevent illness and relieve suffering. Yet they could be even more effective. In our vision, they are ordinary people who do extraordinary things – all their untapped potential will be unleashed.

Ten ‘hot topics’ that have arisen will be discussed and debated ahead of the final report due for publication in early 2010.