On 12 May, Florence Nightingale's birthday, we celebrated International Nurses' Day. This is an annual event through which we can proudly showcase our globally significant nursing role; this year feeling never more poignant and for most, celebrated in a ‘light touch’ fashion.
The worldwide pandemic has affected each and everyone of us on a personal and/or professional level. Many have encountered direct or indirect loss of loved ones, colleagues, health, wellbeing, homes and jobs, and have witnessed death and dying at a pace never seen before. I have heard it described by some as a ‘nurse's nemesis’.
The initial ‘all hands to the pumps' siren call meant that many school and public health nurses were redeployed in the first wave of COVID-19. Our warnings to those making this shift soon became tragic fact. School nurses and other child health professionals were removed from ‘the other frontline’ of caring for school-aged children and families, who were out of sight from school/professionals and many were suffering increased abuse, neglect, destitution, loneliness and loss (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 2020). The real impact is yet to be fully understood, but early findings show a bleak picture of complex sustained safeguarding cases, and a significant rise in self-harm, eating disorders, poverty and more (Barnardo's, 2021).
In contrast to new overwhelming and urgent service need, the latest workforce figures show a woefully inadequate number of practicing school nurses (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2021). This is mainly the result of persistent treasury public health grant cuts (The King's Fund, 2021).
Coupled with this, we cannot and must not ignore the stark and unacceptable health inequalities highlighted during the pandemic. We need to utilise this learning, reflect, analyse and change our models of practice to prevent and reduce preventable death and ill-health. Our government must reinvest in our vital services so that we might stand a chance of tackling the enormous challenge ahead and play our significant nurses' role in ‘building back better’ for children, young people and families.
As a workforce, we have much to be proud of. Public health is oft en ‘invisible’ and yet, during these most awful of times, we have shone! The unique aspect of our role, the link between home, school and the community, which is critical to infection control and prevention, immunisations, and contact tracing/testing, to say nothing of safeguarding, has further emphasised our worth and need. We have been globally ‘up front and centre’ and should be extremely proud (School and Public Health Nurses Association, 2020).
As I step down from role as global co-chair of the School Nurses International, I feel our value has never been more evident and our opportunity is now. Globally, we commit to the International Council of Nurses (2021) campaign and ask you join us at the School and Public Health Nurses Association to raise your roar, becoming more active and vocal in policy development and implementation using our school nursing voice to (truly) lead.
Our workforce and the community we serve deserve nothing less.
‘…we cannot and must not ignore the stark and unnaceptable inequalities highlighted during the pandemic. We need to utilise this learning, reflect, analyse and change our models of practice to prevent and reduce preventable death and ill-health.’
FURTHER INFORMATION
School Nurses International
https://schoolnursesinternational.com/
SAPHNA
https://saphna.co/
International Nurses Day
https://www.icn.ch/what-we-do/campaigns/international-nurses-day