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Health visitors and community nurses are to lobby members of the Welsh Assembly in a bid to put computers on their desks and obtain a fair deal when they use their cars on NHS business.
Members of the Community Practitioners’ and Health Visitors’ Association (CPHVA), and the Community Psychiatric Nurses Association (CPNA) will put their case to Assembly Members (AMs) at the Assembly in Cardiff on Tuesday, 16 October.
CPHVA and CPNA members will be highlighting the issues raised by their two campaigns – Make IT Happen and Deals on Wheels.
The Make IT Happen campaign is aimed at ensuring that every community nurse has on a computer of her/his desk, access to the internet, and proper training in line with the Assembly’s and UK government’s IT goals for the NHS.
A recent CPHVA survey revealed that 80 per cent of those that have a computer at work have to share it with, on average, seven other colleagues.
The Deals on Wheels campaign is aimed at obtaining a better deal for community nurses who use their cars on NHS business.
It is estimated that CPHVA and CPNA members are subsidising the NHS to the tune of Ł700-a-year when visiting clients by car.
Ann Owen, the CPHVA’s Professional Officer (Wales): ‘Health visitors and community nurses are keen to implement the Assembly’s
strategy for improved health care in Wales. But at present, they feel they doing their jobs with one hand tied behind their backs because they
haven’t got the necessary IT equipment We hope that AMs will give the lobby a sympathetic hearing and help move both these campaigns forward.’
Steve Sloan, Welsh Secretary, MSF said: ‘Both these campaigns are very important for our members working in the health service in Wales. They need information technology to provide the best service possible to clients and they should also not be out of pocket when they visit those same clients on NHS business.’
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