A call to action to improve the visibility of research by nursing, midwifery and care staff.

Abstract

British Journal of NursingVol. 27, No. 2 RegularsFree AccessA call to action to improve the visibility of research by nursing, midwifery and care staffIan PeateIan PeateSearch for more papers by this authorIan PeatePublished Online:25 Jan 2018https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2018.27.2.98AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail In December 2017 the Chief Nursing Officer for England, Professor Jane Cummings, hosted the first call to action regarding the implementation of commitment 7 (‘We will lead and drive research to evidence the impact of what we do’), from the Leading Change, Adding Value (LCAV) framework (NHS England, 2016). Contributors from the health and care sectors came together at a roundtable discussion to coordinate efforts related to the LCAV framework, which I independently chaired.This inaugural research roundtable was co-hosted by Dr Katerina Kolyva, Executive Director, and Professor Patrick Callaghan, Executive Lead for Research, both at the Council of Deans of Health (CoDH). A number of university deans and nursing and midwifery research leads from higher education institutions (HEIs) across England attended the event, representing a range of research excellence in nursing and midwifery. Also in attendance were a number of other senior health and social care colleagues. This was the first joint research event of its kind since the launch of LCAV, bringing together key contributors with an overarching goal of working together to improve the visibility and impact of nursing, midwifery and care staff research.This article provides an overview of the genesis of the event, a summary of the discussion that took place and the proposed process for moving forward.The frameworkLCAV is the national framework for nursing, midwifery and care staff in England. It builds on Compassion in Practice (Department of Health, 2012), which set out the 6Cs (compassion, care, commitment, courage, competence and communication) that have become the foundation of our value base. Compassion in Practice confirmed the values at the heart of nursing and midwifery, LCAV builds on this to support nursing, midwifery and care staff to apply equal importance to quantifying and measuring the outcomes of their work. It supports colleagues to consider how they can narrow the three gaps described in the Five Year Forward View (NHS England, 2014) by reducing unwarranted variation in a bid to achieve the triple aim outcomes of better experience, better outcomes and better use of resources (Berwick et al, 2008).LCAV supports staff to focus on ‘high-value’ care, and encourage them to phase out ‘low-value’ activities to close the health and wellbeing gap, the care and quality gap and the funding and efficiency gap, as described in the Five Year Forward View. To help staff achieve this, the framework sets out ten aspirational commitments:Promote a culture where improving the population's health is a core component of practiceIncrease the visibility of leadership and input in preventionWork with individuals, families and communities to equip them to make informed choices and manage their healthFocus on individuals experiencing high-value careWork in partnership with individuals, their families and others important to themActively respond to what matters most to our staff and colleaguesLead and drive research to evidence the impact of what we doHave the right education, training and developmentHave the right staff in the right places at the right timeChampion the use of technology.(NHS England, 2016)Nursing, midwifery and care staff make up the largest proportion of the workforce across the NHS. In England there are more than 543 000 registered nurses and midwives along with 1.1 million care workers (NHS England, 2016). This is a huge community of practitioners who strive to prevent and tackle health inequalities and improve the care experience. If the commitments set out in LCAV are met and all nursing, midwifery and care staff, whatever their role wherever they work, feel empowered to lead change by embedding LCAV in their work. This will help shape the future of the care delivery, while simultaneously going a long way towards improving the health of the nation.The role that nursing, midwifery and care staff play should not be underestimated. They are on hospital wards caring for people, out in the community, offering care and support in care homes, in academia, sitting on boards, developing policy and in the private and voluntary sectors. We have the talent; staff need to unlock the vast potential that is available.Commitment 7, along with other LCAV commitments, can be used to transform care for the better, ensuring it is more efficient, reduces unwarranted variation and prevents ill-health and quantifies the impact of this work and the way it is translated into practice. Nursing, midwifery and care staff are best placed to lead that transformation agenda.Securing a sustainable futureRepresenting the UK's university faculties engaged in education and research for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals, CoDH is committed to increasing research capacity aiming to demonstrate the positive impact research can have on patient safety. In its Strategic Plan (CoDH, 2017) it acknowledged that the context of health in higher education continues to change with increasing devolution and divergence in health and higher education policies. CoDH will work in partnership with its members and other relevant organisations to influence policy, lead change and add value. CoDH will focus on strengthening the research agenda in relation to national policies, frameworks and strategies; specifically LCAV for nursing midwifery and care staff.It makes sense that the synergies apparent within the CoDH strategic plan, the LCAV framework and the Five Year Forward View all come together along with the phenomenal numbers of nursing, midwifery and care staff as they work together harnessing intelligence in closing gaps and addressing the unacceptable and unwarranted variation in health and care provision.Lead and drive research to evidence the impact of what we doLCAV has a strong research focus and also a specific research commitment (number 7), which was the focus of this initial roundtable event. The aim of the roundtable was to:Increase the visibility and impact of nursing and midwifery researchDiscuss the implementation of commitment 7Explore the synergies of CoDH's strategic plan: Securing a Sustainable Future.The Chief Nursing Officer for England described how, with collaboration and joint working, there is an opportunity to highlight the strong academic and research components in nursing and midwifery using case study examples of good practice, making explicit the evidence underpinning what it is that we do, what works and the impact nursing has globally, as well as the economic impact. Commitment 7 provides us with an even greater opportunity to quantifiably demonstrate the contribution staff make.CoDH emphasised its commitment to promoting the voice of nursing and midwifery research, increasing visibility, output and a wider understanding of the higher education agenda. Securing appropriate research funding for the disciplines it represents is a key priority of CoDH, an important driver of which is the Research Excellence Framework (REF). CoDH has been working with professional bodies and other health and higher education bodies to strengthen the role of nursing, midwifery and allied health research in the next REF cycle 2021.Around the table there was complete support for the advancement of clinical academic careers for nursing, midwifery and care staff and this generated much discussion, with a call to encourage applications for research funding and clinical fellowships. It was also agreed that there is an opportunity with the review of pre-registration nursing curriculum and the advent of the Nursing and Midwifery Council's proposed proficiencies to focus more on research and evidence. Postgraduate and post-registration courses for nurses should place an even greater focus on research and evidence, equipping the future workforce and nursing leaders with the necessary skills to drive forward evidence-based quality improvement.Roundtable participants highlighted a number of key topics for discussion. There is a need for ‘real-world’ research where students and practitioners can work together ensuring that research becomes ‘mainstream’ in health and care settings and is not seen as an additional extra. CoDH is ideally placed to support and encourage this. Opportunities were also highlighted to recognise the value of nursing and midwifery research and support staff to demonstrate what they contribute.However, the challenges are (and have always been) quantifying the contribution nursing, midwifery and care staff make. Betty's Story (NHS RightCare, 2017) does address this challenge and demonstrates opportunities nurses have taken to reduce unwarranted variation. A leg ulcer wound care pathway is examined, comparing a typical scenario with an ideal pathway. The ideal pathway shows that effective assessment, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of wound care complications can minimise treatment costs and, importantly, improve outcomes and experience for people with a wound. LCAV encourages the use of NHS RightCare principles, which demonstrate to commissioners and local health economies ‘where to look’, ’what to change’ and ‘how to change’. While there is a need to focus on resourcefulness, there must also be that clear value base. The profession needs to attract the best and the brightest, identify and invite them into clinical academic careers. This pathway needs to be seen as the beginning rather than the end. These discussion points are available in a number of video interviews (www.england.nhs.uk/leadingchange) and a series of profiles and commitments to the research agenda will be published in future issues of BJN.The Atlas of Shared LearningThe end product of the formal 3-year programme of LCAV will be the bringing together of an ‘Atlas of Shared Learning’. The Atlas will clearly demonstrate how nursing, midwifery and care staff have led and contributed in narrowing the gaps that exist in health and wellbeing, care and quality and funding and efficiency and their essential input to the Five Year Forward View and other national policies and programmes.The Atlas of Shared Learning will enable national and international colleagues to source learning on where unwarranted variation has been identified and addressed, and how outcomes, experience and use of resources were improved. Case studies are being collected over the 3-year period. The Atlas will be populated using a series of written case studies and short films with staff who have demonstrated leading change, adding value across a variety of health and social care settings.Summing up and moving forwardIn addition to the first inaugural report of the roundtable and the introduction of the host and co-host, BJN is running a series of articles that will profile each of the roundtable members and their comments on the importance of nursing and midwifery research as aligned to the LCAV framework. The national LCAV operational team and the CoDH are also progressing plans to disseminate the discussion and to maintain momentum. References Berwick DM, Nolan TW, Whittington J. The triple aim: care, health, and cost. Health Aff (Millwood). 2008; 27(3):759–769. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.27.3.759 Crossref, Medline, Google ScholarCouncil of Deans. Securing a sustainable future, strategic plan 2018-2021. 2017. https://tinyurl.com/ybzpp3c9 (accessed 15 January 2018) Google ScholarDepartment of Health. Compassion in practice. Nursing, midwifery and care staff. Our vision and strategy. 2012. https://tinyurl.com/jcx9yrh (accessed 15 January 2018) Google ScholarNHS England. Five year forward view. https://tinyurl.com/oxq92je (accessed 15 January 2018) Google ScholarNHS England. Leading change adding value. A framework for nursing, midwifery and care staff. 2016. https://tinyurl.com/h45wu74 (accessed 15 January 2018) Google ScholarNHS RightCare. RightCare scenario: the variation between sub-optimal and optimal pathways. 2017 https://tinyurl.com/yajfgbwo (accessed 15 January 2018) Google Scholar FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails 25 January 2018Volume 27Issue 2ISSN (print): 0966-0461ISSN (online): 2052-2819 Metrics History Published online 25 January 2018 Published in print 25 January 2018 Information© MA Healthcare LimitedPDF download