Nursing in Practice May/June 2020 (issue 114) | Page 22

12 COVER STORY
have put extra strain on school nurses. She estimates that
about a third of school nurses have been redeployed to other
areas of the health service during the coronavirus. She also
believes school nurse numbers must increase, as they will be
crucial to tackling the ‘secondary impact’ of the coronavirus
crisis. ‘I’m hoping that school nursing will be recognised as
crucial in future public health funding,’ says Ms White.
‘We know that whenever we exit from here, our referrals
to social care, to hospitals, to GPs, to mental health services
are going to go through the roof,’ she cautions. ‘We also
know that lots of poorly children are not presenting at GPs
and hospitals when they should.’ This will mean a surge of
children who are unwell presenting at GPs after the crisis,
Ms White says.
Catalyst for change
But Marilyn Eveleigh, a nurse consultant and independent
trainer, is more positive, believing the status of nursing has
‘reached meteoric heights in the public’s mind’, which should
‘stimulate enrolments to training’. ‘Along with a rise in the
status of homecare staff, I suspect there will be a public
endorsement for improved remuneration of nurses and social
care workers,’ she suggests.
Professor Beresford is also hopeful: ‘Because of the
issues we have seen with Covid-19, you’d think the
underlying problems in social care would be addressed in the
future – and that is my hope, though it is not my certainty.
I want something good to come out of this terrible situation.’
Carolyn Doyle, community nursing and end-of-life care
professional lead at the Royal College of Nursing, thinks the
coronavirus crisis might improve people’s perception of
community nurses. It has shown, she says, ‘that with our
backs against the wall, we can work really well for the benefit
of our patients’. She continues: ‘Everything has been
focused on acute care, but community nursing has been
central to tackling the outbreak. We were disadvantaged with
staffing numbers, but we have pulled out all the stops.’
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A virtual future
General practice nurses have also seen a huge shift in the
way they carry out their jobs. (See From the front line, page
30, and commentaries page 18 and page 20.) Only essential
contact appointments – such as antenatal visits, baby
vaccinations and wound care – remain in most practices.
Long-term condition reviews, cytology and travel
immunisations have been reduced or stopped altogether.
However, the epidemic does appear to have spurred
changes that many had wanted for years.
Marie Therese Massey, RCN GPN professional lead, says
‘there is no going back’. She believes that many of the
changes that ensued as a result of the pandemic will stick.
‘When life begins to return to normal and we have time
to reflect, we’ll need to take a long hard look at
what went well, what worked for the patient and
clinician, and what didn’t work for either party.
This is a real opportunity for practice nurses
to make the changes that are required to
improve patient care and challenge the old
ways of working.’
Ms Massey believes virtual
consultations are likely to stay, with most
appointments being done that way now
– ‘and successfully, in most cases,
evidence suggests,’ she says.
Ms Eveleigh agrees: ‘Using technology
during the pandemic to manage routine
services has been monumental – it will change
the way we work. Nursing IT skills will likely
become a core requirement of efficient, safe
practice, especially for practice nurses and others in
non-acute settings.’
nursinginpractice.com May/June 2020