The Northern Trust has set out its vision for nursing and midwifery services for the next four years with the launch of its strategy at the Rosspark Hotel, Kells.

The strategy Our Futures, Our Journey was developed in consultation with a broad representation of nurses and midwives. It highlights the changing face of nursing in the Trust with a move away from traditional to more specialist nursing roles.

Nursing is the largest part of the Northern Trust’s workforce with approximately 4,000 nursing & midwifery staff working across hospitals and in the community. Innovations in the service include the nurse led self-harm clinics in Accident and Emergency; the development of the Nurse Practitioner Service in A&E Departments; the introduction of a Nurse Endoscopist Service; the Acute Care at Home Service, which delivers services to patients in their own homes who would previously have been kept in hospital; and the new case management approach to providing care for patients with chronic conditions.

The Trust has also introduced community paediatric complex care nurses; child and adolescent eating disorder nurse specialists; and advanced neo-natal nurse practitioners.

The Trust’s strategy promotes innovation and change and the involvement of nurses and midwives at all levels in decision-making to improve quality of care and clinical effectiveness.

Central to the strategy is the development of services that are person-centred, valuing the rights and needs of individuals and providing services that are accessible, responsive and promote health and wellbeing.

Jim Stewart, Chairman of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust said,

“Developing and delivering the vision will be a real challenge. To make it a reality requires the commitment of all our nurses and midwives. The service it describes is however no less than each of us would want for our families and for ourselves.”

Speaking at the launch, Martin Bradley, Chief Nursing Officer with the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, highlighted the important role that nurses and midwives play in securing and maintaining the health of the population. He said,

"We are faced with major challenges in reducing health inequalities across our communities and the Minister's recent announcement on a new Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland provides a unique opportunity to begin to address some of the issues. If we are to develop as a modern successful society we must recognise that we have to work across health, social care, local government and other areas of public life if we are to secure the health benefit that we all desire."

Bronagh Scott, Director, Emergency, Primary Care and Older People’s Services & Executive Director Nursing, Northern Health and Social Care Trust pictured at the launch of the Our Futures, Our Journey strategy with Alex McGuiggan who spoke about his patient experience at the launch

Pictured at the launch of the Our Futures, Our Journey strategy are nursing staff (back row) Fionnula Duffy and Brenda McConville and front row: Pamela McBride, Maeve McGuigan and Fiona Brown.

Speakers pictured at the Our Futures, Our Journey strategy launch are: Bronagh Scott, Director, Emergency, Primary Care and Older People’s Services & Executive Director Nursing, Northern Health and Social Care Trust; Alex McGuiggan, Service User; Iris Robinson MP MLA, Chair of the NI Assembly Health Committee; Norma Evans, Chief Executive of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust and Liz McNair, Director of Nursing, Northern Health and Social Services Board