Nursing and midwifery care: event report

Excellence in Care: Vision

My Vision

My vision for Excellence in Care is to develop and implement a world-class, evidence-based, national approach to assuring nursing and midwifery care that reflects the "Once for Scotland" ethos. It is one in which people using services experience the same standard of care across the country and have confidence that nurses and midwives in Scotland are delivering a world-class service. I also believe that nurses and midwives must feel valued and work in environments in which they can flourish: they, and the patients, clients and communities they serve, must feel they have sufficient time and support to deliver excellence every time.

Our approach will:

• measure and assure the quality of nursing and midwifery care.
• demonstrate the contribution nurses and midwives make to the Quality Strategy ambitions of person-centred, safe and effective care.
• embed staff and care experience/engagement at its core.
• recognise the culture and conditions required to enable good-quality care.

It isn't actually about assurance. It's about providing excellent care, not just from nurses and midwives in our acute hospitals, but also from the school nurse who is reaching out to a troubled adolescent, or the health visitor supporting a young homeless mother and her child. Much media portrayal of nursing and midwifery is about acute care, but we need to ensure excellence stretches far beyond the walls of our hospitals to reach nurses and midwives working in every sector of our communities. We have a real opportunity in Scotland now to make that difference.

As the country's chief nurse, I read accounts of poor and harmful practice with great shame. But I also feel enormous pride when I see and hear about the outstanding work being done by nurses and midwives throughout the country who are listening to their patients, clients and communities and responding positively to what they hear.

This national event gave us a chance to celebrate what's good about nursing and midwifery and to honestly and openly address poor practice. In so doing, we toughen our resolve to build on the positives of nursing and midwifery care and eradicate the unacceptable.

Professor Fiona McQueen,
Chief Nursing Officer