Pledge to develop nursing leadership across Northern Ireland

To this end, the country’s health minister, Mike Nesbitt, has today launched the Collective Leadership Framework for Nursing and Midwifery.

“In nursing and midwifery, strong leadership directly correlates with safer patient outcomes”

Mike Nesbitt

It seeks to create a culture in nursing and midwifery which “values acts of leadership from all staff, regardless of hierarchy, experience, location, discipline or level”, according to the document.

Mr Nesbitt formally announced the framework today as part of his keynote address at the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Conference, which is being held in Belfast.

The theme of the summit, led by Northern Ireland CNO Maria McIlgorm, is “transformation and safety culture”.

The minister told attendees that the leadership framework “represents a truly positive step forward in how we support and develop our nursing and midwifery workforce”.

He said it would also be good for patient safety.

“In nursing and midwifery, strong leadership directly correlates with safer patient outcomes,” added Mr Nesbitt.

The hope is that the framework will be used to develop “informal” nursing and midwifery leaders at all levels as well as nurses and midwives with the competencies to step into formal leadership roles when they become available.

Speaking at her summit, Northern Ireland CNO Maria McIlgorm welcomed the framework and said it would “ultimately translate into better outcomes for our workforce and the people who use our services”.

“Effective leaders play a crucial role in advocating for the necessary policy, resources, training, and infrastructure that enable transformation and ensure nurses and midwives have what they need to succeed,” she said.

She also pledged to lobby for extra investment into nursing and midwifery leadership.

“I want to assure you of my commitment to advocating for further investment in building leadership capacity to help drive the change and improvements we need to sustain and reform our services,” she told delegates at the conference.

The Collective Leadership Framework for Nursing and Midwifery has been produced by the Department of Health and the Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council (NIPEC).

It builds on the wider Health and Social Care (HSC) Collective Leadership Strategy, which was launched in 2017 as part of ambitions to transform HSC services set out in the Health and Wellbeing 2026: Delivering Together plan.

Meanwhile, also at the CNO conference, Mr Nesbitt launched new standards for maternity support workers (MSW), which outline the role, conduct and behaviours required of MSWs.

Mr Nesbitt said the standards were “not just about ensuring competencies”.

“They speak to our commitment to creating a safety culture where every maternity support worker understands their vital role in safeguarding the wellbeing of both mothers and infants,” he added.