24.08.15
Investment in school nurses ‘essential’ to solve ‘escalating child health crisis’
Healthcare experts will emphasise the “critical” need for greater investment in “overlooked and undervalued” school nursing to solve the “escalating child health crisis” in the country during the annual Royal College of Nurses conference today (24 August).
It will build on figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre that show a drop in NHS-employed full-time equivalent school nurses to just 3,053 despite more than 8.4 million pupils attending 24,317 schools currently.
This is further worsened by predictions from the Health Education England of a “worrying” 24% vacancy rate in this area.
Today’s call for greater school nursing investment also comes as a recent report found that five more children die per day in the UK than in Sweden (after controlling for population size and other variables).
Several local authorities are considering cutting school nurse funding to mend gaps in other areas of public health, which are currently facing £200m budget cuts – and could face further savings in the upcoming Spending Review.
Councils in Staffordshire, Middlesbrough and Derbyshire are already considering an overhaul of school nurses to salvage other public health necessities.
However the RCN is adamant that school nurses have a “unique opportunity” to tackle key elements of public health by working closely with children, parents and teachers, both by focusing on prevention and nipping problems in the bud.
This is backed by statistics that show one in three children in the UK are overweight, while one in five are obese.
One in ten pupils also suffers from a mental disorder and 6% of children have a disability, while almost 16% have identified special educational needs – equating to almost one and a half million pupils.
Fiona Smith, professional lead for children and young people’s nursing at the RCN, said: “School nurses play a critical role in the health of our children, yet their work is so often overlooked – and undervalued.
“Today’s conference illustrates the wide range of issues school nurses tackle on a daily basis, from conditions such as epilepsy to behavioural disorders like ADHD. They are talented, multi-skilled nursing staff who deserve immense recognition.
“Unlike any other health professional, school nurses work with children and education staff on a daily basis. However, the investment is fundamental if we are to begin solving this crisis in children’s health and build a healthy and prosperous future population.”
The RCN argues that without sufficient funding and time, school nurses – who are “essential in educating children and their families” about fundamental public health issues – cannot fulfil their ability to improve escalating problems.
(Top image. c Tuscaloosa News, Dusty Compton, PA Images)