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CPHVA response to Chief Nursing Officer’s review
School nurses are delighted that their invaluable role in tackling the health problems of the UK’s school age population has been officially recognised in the Chief Nursing Officer’s review. They say it is ‘long overdue’.
However, the Community Practitioners’ and Health Visitors’ Association (CPHVA), which represents the majority of the UK’s 2,500 school nurses, is asking where the funding for this dramatic expansion in the workforce is coming from.
The review by the Chief Nursing Officer (England), Sarah Mullally, into community nursing’s contribution to vulnerable young people said there should be a full time school nurse for every secondary school and its cluster of primary schools.
The CPHVA has repeatedly called for the employment of an extra 500 school nurses and its Professional Officer for School Health and Public Health, Pat Jackson said today (Tuesday, 3 August): ‘At present, there is nowhere near enough school nurses on the ground to make the CNO’s recommendation a reality.’
Ms Jackson said: ‘The CPHVA welcomes the CNO’s review. School nurses will be delighted about the recommendations, which demonstrate recognition of the invaluable contribution that school nurses make to the health needs of the school age population and, in particular, vulnerable children and young people.’
‘This is full credit to school nurses who have continued to initiate new ways of working in response to the government’s policy agenda.’
‘School nurses will applaud the recommendations that call for a full time school nurse for every secondary school and its cluster of primary schools. This is an acknowledgement of what school nurses have long been saying - that the health needs of the school age population do not go away in July and resurface again in September.’
‘The call for local vaccination teams to be established is welcomed, which will mean that school nurses in future will not have to sacrifice their primary functions to undertake mass vaccination programmes. And the foundation is being set to further integrate school nursing and health visiting, which is particularly timely with the current position of the third part of the NMC register.’
‘However, the CPHVA and school nurses are asking the question: ‘How will this be financed?’
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