Nursing and midwifery - Listening Project: You shared, we listened

6. Conclusion and next steps

The feedback from midwifery and nursing staff, students and academics was collected over a number of months and was fed back to Taskforce subgroups on a continuous basis to inform their discussions on possible recommended actions. The Taskforce will collectively consider the recommended actions proposed by all subgroups and publish a final report at the start of 2025.

Inevitably issues outside the scope of the Taskforce were raised during the Listening Project. These were shared with the relevant people outside the Taskforce, taking care to protect the anonymity of those who participated and their employing organisation. When an issue raised was deemed serious enough to require further escalation for follow up, permission was sought from participants and any identifiable information about the respondents was removed prior to this escalation. In all Listening Project matters, public protection and protection of those who took part remained at the forefront throughout the project.

The Listening Project was established to ensure that the voice of staff, students and academics were heard as part of the Taskforce. Therefore, it was decided to publish the full report of the Listening Project as it formed a key strand of evidence for consideration by the Taskforce. The report will also be shared with staff to assure them that the feedback they gave has been captured and shared widely as part of the Taskforce work. It is also hoped that the Listening Project format will be used again in the future as part of policy development.

We would like to thank the nursing and midwifery staff, students and academics who kindly made the time to participate. Their openness and honesty in the discussions and survey responses led to valuable insights into both the change that is now required to improve attraction and retention of the midwifery and nursing workforce, and the actions that all relevant partners and stakeholders should collectively implement to achieve that change