Practice nurses have huge potential to pave the way for out-of-hospital care, the lead nurse at Health Education England (HEE) has said.
Speaking exclusively to Independent Nurse about the recently released Roland Commission report (released in July this year) Lisa Bayliss-Pratt, director of nursing at HEE, said the recommendations recognised the diversity of the practice nursing profession.
The Roland Commission report was independently set up by HEE to address the challenges in primary care. The Roland Commission was chaired by Martin Roland CBE, professor of health services at the University of Cambridge, and comprised a team of primary care professionals.
‘The team looked at different models of primary care and it was really clear that practice nurses have a pivotal role, and there were great examples of that,’ said Ms Bayliss-Pratt. ‘However, it would be wrong to say that was the only solution because what is clear from the report’s recommendations is that there is not one size or model that fits all.’
Ms Bayliss-Pratt said that the Roland Commission recommendations will not be used in the same way nationally but rather that local education and training boards will use them to determine the best course of action for their local areas.
‘In the autumn there will be a formal response from HEE to this independent commission that will set out what our plan is in relation to which recommendations we think might need more work and which might be achieved quite quickly in some parts of the country.’
The Roland Commission report received its soft launch in July but will receive a formal launch later on this year once key stakeholders have consulted on the recommendations.
She also spoke about the upcoming general practice nursing framework, due for release in October, which will set out clear levels of competencies around what people can expect practice nurses would be doing at different levels.
Ms Bayliss-Pratt said that the framework aims to get the message across that general practice nurses are an ‘incredibly valuable resource to deliver high-quality patient care and are pivotal to the future.’
However, the framework will not be mandatory. ‘It will be more of an enabling and liberating framework to help people articulate their learning and development needs,’ said Ms Bayliss-Pratt.