How to stay afloat

Nursing must find new ways of navigation in a perfect storm. This may sound like hyperbole, but it is no exaggeration to suggest that nursing in England finds itself in the midst of an unprecedented situation that could have far-reaching consequences. Government reforms of the health service, coupled with the imperative to make savings of historic proportions, are already reshaping nursing on the ground. Nurses face job cuts, devolution of pay and conditions, changes to their pensions, dilution of skill mix and down-banding of roles. This poses a challenge to the provision of safe, skilled, high-quality nursing care, and to the identity of nursing as a valuable, valued and viable profession. Just when it is needed most, the reputation of the Nursing and Midwifery Council is in tatters following a damning report from the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE). All of this is taking place amid the seemingly perpetual backdrop of media reports of 'uncaring' and 'lazy' nurses, contributing to an increasing, yet understandable, climate of fear among the public, perceptibly eroding trust in the profession. These political, economic and social forces are a perfect storm that need to be navigated successfully by nurses. We have not always helped ourselves when faced with stormy weather and old ways of plotting our course through choppy waters must yield to new methods of seafaring.