The nursing chief has vowed to ‘fly the flag’ for nurses working in the social care sector.
The Chief Executive and Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has said she wants to dispell the myth that nurses working in social care are somehow “less important or less skilled”.
In a statement, Andrea Sutcliffe CBE said; “As the independent regulator for nursing and midwifery professionals across the UK, the NMC recognises the vital contribution that adult social care nurses make every day for millions of people living in communities who rely on receiving person-centred care that meets their needs and supports their aspirations.
“Since joining the NMC, concerns have been raised with me that nurses working in adult social care are seen as somehow less skilled than those working in the health sector and as a consequence are sometimes disregarded and undermined by others.
Ms Sutcliffe went on to add; “I want to emphasise this is absolutely not the case.
“To join our register, all nurses must demonstrate the same clinical excellence and commitment to kindness, compassion and respect. We make no distinction between the standards, behaviours and skills we expect nurses to uphold, regardless of the setting in which care is provided.
“Nurses working in adult social care should never be made to feel as though they are less important or less skilled than nurses working in the health service.
“We know that in many cases, an adult social care nurse is often one of only a few registered nurses in their service – responsible for managing and providing care to people with increasingly complex needs requiring a very high level of knowledge, skill and competence.”
Before finally adding; “I will be flying the flag for nurses in social care at the Care England conference. I hope others will join me to recognise, celebrate and promote the brilliant work nurses in adult social care do alongside their colleagues in the health service.”
