Member News
Baroness Cox writes for ePolitix.com ahead of her oral question on the representation of the nursing profession in the House of Lords.
At present, to my knowledge, there are only two members of the nursing profession in the House of Lords: Baroness Emerton and myself. Speaking for myself, I must emphasise that I am in no way competent to speak on matters of current healthcare policy in the UK, as I spend nearly half of my time abroad in remote locations in some jungle, desert, mountain or bush-land, with aid and advocacy work on behalf of HART [Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust].
Audrey [Baroness] Emerton has emphasised her belief that she also does not feel sufficiently in touch with current issues to speak effectively on behalf of the nursing profession and its distinctive contribution to healthcare policy and practice.
The raison d'être of the House of Lords is its legislative refining and revising functions with contributions by members who have expertise in their own professional fields, who would not usually be in a position to stand for general election. While the medical profession is well represented by peers with a wide range of current clinical experience, the distinctive contributions from nursing are not available.
Yet nurses form a majority of the NHS workforce; they are widely represented on official policymaking bodies such as trusts, and, in the course of professional practice, they care for patients around the clock. Thus, in a unique way, they are able to assess important issues, such as the quality of care being provided, or problems in access and response to health services.
Nurses also work in the entire range of healthcare provision, including intensive care; community care; paediatrics; the care of the elderly; mental health and disability; palliative care. Nursing is complementary to medicine, but however superb medical or surgical care may be, it often depends on high-quality nursing for successful outcomes.
The same may be said of the parliamentary arena: however superb the contributions by the medical members of the House of Lords, there is a need for a complementary representation of the nursing profession, with its crucial and distinctive contribution to every aspect of healthcare policy-making and practice.
When I was a student nurse many decades ago, the ward sister on my first ward gave me a good clinical report – but a warning.
She said:
"In your own interests, as you go through your training in this hospital, please do not ask so many awkward questions." [which surprised me, as, being very shy, I could not remember asking any questions, let alone awkward ones!].
Such was the culture of nursing in those days. But now, nurses are educated to think critically, to act as advocates for their patients, and to contribute to policymaking. The House of Lords would benefit from this contribution – and is currently impoverished by its absence.
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