Nursing: Elderly and Vulnerable Patients

Baroness Masham of Ilton Excerpts

Wednesday 19th October 2011 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, from my reading of the report —and I have looked through it—I think there is much there that we can pick up very usefully, so I agree.

[Baroness Masham of Ilton]

My Lords, does the noble Earl agree that district nurses do a very important job in keeping vulnerable, elderly and disabled people in the community? Is he aware that there is a shortage and that their training needs to be different because they go into other people’s homes?

[Earl Howe]

The noble Baroness, as ever, makes a very important point. It is one of the reasons we have a very ambitious programme of expanding the number of health visitors. She is right about tailoring the training to suit the environment. That is why there are local curricula as well as the core nursing curriculum that have approved standards from the NMC but are sensitive to local needs in individual areas.