Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the number of district nurses in England in community service organisations, such as NHS Community Healthcare Trusts, has reduced since 2010; and, if so, what measures they are taking to address any problems caused by such a reduction.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Community health care services are a crucial part of the health and social care system that allows patients to be cared for at the right time in the right place.
NHS Digital data shows a reduction in the number of full time equivalent district nurses in England from 7,546 in September 2010 to 4,587 in May 2018. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers. The number of district nurses in independent healthcare providers increased by 273, from September 2010 to September 2017. As a result of changes made in 2009 to the ways in which community services are provided – i.e. from a range of different types of provider – this does not represent the full picture and there will be a number of district nurses providing National Health Service services in organisations that do not provide a return to the Electronic Staff Records.
The training of new district nurses is important in maintaining a workforce that can deliver the needs of the population in the community. Health Education England has commissioned and funded the District Nursing Specialist Practice Qualification at a steady state over the last six years. These are based upon the requirements that local providers have informed Health Education England. However, year on year these commissions are not fully taken up and therefore Health Education England is working to better understand the reasons this may be.
Health Education England is now exploring the capacity and capability required of our community workforce to best meet the future needs of the population. Health Education England is evaluating the skills and knowledge required within the wider community workforce including district nurses. This has involved extensive engagement across England to understand how best to meet to needs of the local population, as well as develop a role that has a more desirable career pathway for prospective healthcare professionals. The Government is also supporting incentives for postgraduates who go on to work in community nursing roles, including ‘golden hellos’.
Patient safety remains a key priority for the Department and in 2017 we restated our commitment to the NHS being the “safest healthcare system in the world”. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) assesses all registered providers that deliver regulated activities against the Fundamental Standards, below which the standard of care must not fall. Staffing is one of the Standards, and the CQC inspections check that sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff are deployed within service providers. To this effect we would expect providers to continue to ensure patient safety in the community.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial challenges faced by nurses in England where they take a reduction in salary for the duration of the one-year education programme to qualify as a district nurse.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Community health services play a crucial role in keeping people living healthier for longer through proactively managing health in a setting where patients feel most comfortable. Having the right workforce is fundamental to ensure this can happen and the Government acknowledges the challenge of meeting increased demand for care from community nurses.
We want to do more to support nurses, including those facing financial difficulty, who undertake the one-year education programme to qualify as a district nurse. On 9 May 2018, the Minister of State for Health (Stephen Barclay) announced that some postgraduate students starting district nursing courses will be eligible to receive up to £10,000 as a 'golden hello’. The Government announced £10 million to support this and we are currently considering how this is best delivered on the ground. Health Education England has agreed to provide funding for all community nursing specialist practice qualifications until 2020. In addition to this, we are expanding routes into district nursing by developing an apprenticeship.
Employers across the National Health Service are responsible for rostering their staff effectively, including providing cover for staff who are on training, to ensure they can deliver excellent patient care. Health Education England is currently considering how to further support the community nursing workforce.
Health Education England has advised they are grateful to Dr Bob Brown, Queen’s Nursing Institute, for raising his concerns regarding the future development of the district nurse workforce. A full written response to Dr Brown’s letter is being sent imminently.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on patient safety and wellbeing of the falling numbers of district nurses in England reported by NHS Digital.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Community health services play a crucial role in keeping people living healthier for longer through proactively managing health in a setting where patients feel most comfortable. Having the right workforce is fundamental to ensure this can happen and the Government acknowledges the challenge of meeting increased demand for care from community nurses.
NHS Digital’s data, which is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, shows a drop in the number of full-time equivalent district nurses across the National Health Service. However, because of changes, made in 2009, to the way that community health services are commissioned – i.e. to a range of different types of provider – this does not represent the full picture and there will be many district nurses providing NHS funded services in organisations that do not provide a return to the Electronic Staff Record.
However, we are not complacent, which is why we are increasing the supply of registered nurses to meet the growth in demand and have announced additional clinical placement funding that will enable around 5,000 more nursing students to enter training each year from September 2018. This is a historic increase.
We are committed to developing and supporting the wellbeing of the whole community workforce to deliver safe, quality patient-centred care. Health Education England is currently considering how to further support the community nursing workforce.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to address the impact of the reduction in the number of district nurses in England from 7,700 in 2010 to 4,400 in 2018, as reported by NHS Digital.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Community health services play a crucial role in keeping people living healthier for longer through proactively managing health in a setting where patients feel most comfortable. Having the right workforce is fundamental to ensure this can happen and the Government acknowledges the challenge of meeting increased demand for care from community nurses.
NHS Digital’s data, which is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, shows a drop in the number of full-time equivalent district nurses across the National Health Service. However, because of changes, made in 2009, to the way that community health services are commissioned – i.e. to a range of different types of provider – this does not represent the full picture and there will be many district nurses providing NHS funded services in organisations that do not provide a return to the Electronic Staff Record.
However, we are not complacent, which is why we are increasing the supply of registered nurses to meet the growth in demand and have announced additional clinical placement funding that will enable around 5,000 more nursing students to enter training each year from September 2018. This is a historic increase.
We are committed to developing and supporting the wellbeing of the whole community workforce to deliver safe, quality patient-centred care. Health Education England is currently considering how to further support the community nursing workforce.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the letter sent on 22 June by Dr Bob Brown, Trustee of the Queen’s Nursing Institute and chair the Community Nurse Executive Network, to Health Education England, which highlighted the lack of funding from Health Education England to support district nurse education after September.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Community health services play a crucial role in keeping people living healthier for longer through proactively managing health in a setting where patients feel most comfortable. Having the right workforce is fundamental to ensure this can happen and the Government acknowledges the challenge of meeting increased demand for care from community nurses.
We want to do more to support nurses, including those facing financial difficulty, who undertake the one-year education programme to qualify as a district nurse. On 9 May 2018, the Minister of State for Health (Stephen Barclay) announced that some postgraduate students starting district nursing courses will be eligible to receive up to £10,000 as a 'golden hello’. The Government announced £10 million to support this and we are currently considering how this is best delivered on the ground. Health Education England has agreed to provide funding for all community nursing specialist practice qualifications until 2020. In addition to this, we are expanding routes into district nursing by developing an apprenticeship.
Employers across the National Health Service are responsible for rostering their staff effectively, including providing cover for staff who are on training, to ensure they can deliver excellent patient care. Health Education England is currently considering how to further support the community nursing workforce.
Health Education England has advised they are grateful to Dr Bob Brown, Queen’s Nursing Institute, for raising his concerns regarding the future development of the district nurse workforce. A full written response to Dr Brown’s letter is being sent imminently.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to reduce any impact on patient care resulting from the absence of funding to backfill a post when a registered nurse in the district nursing team undertakes a year-long programme of education in order to qualify as a district nurse.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Community health services play a crucial role in keeping people living healthier for longer through proactively managing health in a setting where patients feel most comfortable. Having the right workforce is fundamental to ensure this can happen and the Government acknowledges the challenge of meeting increased demand for care from community nurses.
We want to do more to support nurses, including those facing financial difficulty, who undertake the one-year education programme to qualify as a district nurse. On 9 May 2018, the Minister of State for Health (Stephen Barclay) announced that some postgraduate students starting district nursing courses will be eligible to receive up to £10,000 as a 'golden hello’. The Government announced £10 million to support this and we are currently considering how this is best delivered on the ground. Health Education England has agreed to provide funding for all community nursing specialist practice qualifications until 2020. In addition to this, we are expanding routes into district nursing by developing an apprenticeship.
Employers across the National Health Service are responsible for rostering their staff effectively, including providing cover for staff who are on training, to ensure they can deliver excellent patient care. Health Education England is currently considering how to further support the community nursing workforce.
Health Education England has advised they are grateful to Dr Bob Brown, Queen’s Nursing Institute, for raising his concerns regarding the future development of the district nurse workforce. A full written response to Dr Brown’s letter is being sent imminently.