Share your views on dignity in nursing and midwifery

The Prime Minister has asked the Commission on the Future of Nursing and Midwifery to engage in robust dialogue to identify challenges and opportunities for nurses and midwives, so we'd like to hear your views about nursing and midwifery in England.

Everyone's views are welcome and you are encouraged to contribute your views about dignity within nursing and midwifery (both for patients and staff).

  • what the skills and attributes of the 'ideal' nurse or midwife are
  • what nurses and midwives could do more of or do differently in the future
  • what might be preventing nurses and midwives from doing this now.

The deadline for your comments is Monday August 10th, 2009.

Ann Keen, Health Minister and Chair of the Commission said:

'Nurses and midwives are at the heart of England's health services and are relied upon to provide safe, compassionate and high quality care. We know that patients and the public continue to want professionals to provide this service, yet we are also aware that the context in which care is given has changed enormously and will continue to change.'

'With this in mind, we need to look now at how we can shape the future of the profession to ensure that we maintain the impressive record of nursing and midwifery achievements. Today's listening event is part of our wider engagement process and one of the first steps towards helping to ensure that nurses and midwives can be empowered and supported to deliver high quality care for all.'

All views and evidence will be added to the submissions currently coming in from the public consultation launched by the Commission on May 10.

The submissions will then be analysed and these will then be fed back to professions and the public during a second engagement phase in the autumn, which will include a national deliberative event.

The final report with recommendations will be submitted to the Prime Minister by March 2010.

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