Our annual SAPHNA conference took place on the 12th of September. After feedback from members, we held the conference virtually and invested in a conferencing platform to improve delegate experience. We had an esteemed line-up of keynote speakers, a great array of good practice being shared in our workshop programme and sessions which focused on the importance of sharing research and innovation in school nursing. We are in the process of formally evaluating, however, the positive feedback that we have received in our inbox reinforces the value that the conference bought.
Every day we turn on our TVs and hear stories of how the NHS is facing mounting challenges. Funding constraints, reduced staffing, the inability to train enough staff and retain them, demand increasing and waiting lists growing. The challenges for public health are similar and arguably greater given the years of disinvestment and lack of importance given to prevention and early intervention. Our conference, ‘Looking to a positive future: strengthen, prevent, promote, protect’, aimed to refocus the profession and look forward. Our speakers were grounded in the reality of the here and now, however, gave challenge about how school nurses contribute to shaping, leading and delivering the public health role and improving outcomes for children and young people.
Jamie Waterall, deputy chief nurse, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, started our conference by acknowledging the uncertainty and adversity that we face post-pandemic impacted by global unrest and financial uncertainty, which has worsened health outcomes. He highlighted the continuing disparity and poorer outcomes for those children living in the most deprived areas. He urged school nurses to look to a positive future and seek opportunities to improve public health outcomes. Jamie challenged school nurses to reflect on the way we deliver care at individual, community and population level to ensure focus on improving health inequalities, urging public health professionals to use collective leadership to shape, lead and deliver on policy, service and practice development to improve outcomes. He spoke of school nursing being no better example of a profession integrated within communities and working across the life course with the wider public health workforce, delivering services so that people live more independent healthier lives. Jamie shared the development of the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for England's Professional Strategy for Nursing and Midwifery, which sets out a move towards system integration and population health management with a focus on strengthening the public health impact across all that we do. Jamie was clear on the need to commit to a robust workforce plan supported by adequate funding to recruit, retain and strengthen the specialist public health workforce.
Greg Fell, vice president of the Association of Directors of Public Health gave further challenge and much food for thought. He had no doubt that school nurses make a difference and improve outcomes for children and young people. He argued that we offer the only universal health service for school-aged children and represent the voice of children on health matters. But, he asked ‘what does Bob at number 42 think school nurses do?’ Weigh children?, parents receive the letters after the NCMP has been delivered and see this as the role of a school nurse. He challenged us to be clear on our unique selling point and develop a marketing campaign so that everyone is clear about the difference that school nursing makes. He asked, what is the elevator pitch that you give to those that matter? How do you know you make a difference? He reiterated that there is not enough funding to do everything and thus the need to focus on our core role. Greg spoke about the challenges and tensions in practice and highlighted the area of safeguarding. He referred to the balance of supporting safeguarding (children on child protection and in need plans) describing this end of safeguarding as being viewed as ‘really quite pointy’ versus the delivery of the wider public health role. He spoke of the expectation that school nurses pick up this work. School Nurses seen as equalling ‘health’ in the safeguarding arena and therefore must attend conferences. Greg did not debate that this work was not important. However, the consequences of increasing time focused on the ‘pointy end of safeguarding’ has a negative impact on cost opportunities of delivering the wider public health agenda. Greg stressed the need to reignite the debate about the day-to-day role of school nurses doing public health work ‘as just as important, maybe more important in the long term’, reframing the core work of School Nursing as ‘no less important and no less pointy’.
‘[Jamie Waterall, deputy chief nurse, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities] … was clear on the need to commit to a robust workforce plan supported by adequate funding to recruit, retain and strengthen the specialist public health workforce.’
At SAPHNA, we are committed to advocating that the knowledge and skills of the Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (School Nursing) are used effectively and effeciently to improve health outcomes and reduce health inequalities for our children and young people. SAPHNA continues to articulate the role and value of school nursing across many arenas and will continue to be the voice of the profession. We have contributed to shaping the CNO's strategy and continue to work as part of wider coalitions, Health Policy Influencing Group, Food Poverty Action Groups and Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition to name a few, playing our part in shaping, leading and delivering on policy, service and practice development to improve outcomes for our children and young people. If you missed our conference and want to hear more from our speakers and hear about the good practice shared in our workshop programme then you will soon be able to purchase recordings via our website at https://saphna.co/products/ and https://saphna.co/conferences/annual-conference-2023/
‘[Greg Fell, vice president of the Association of Directors of Public Health] … challenged us to be clear on our unique selling point and develop a marketing campaign so that everyone is clear about the difference that school nursing makes. He asked, what is the elevator pitch that you give to those that matter? How do you know you make a difference?’
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