In this section:
This year, why not enjoy a day out at a National Gardens Scheme garden - you'll be helping fund the QNI too!
Providing vital funding for projects that help improve patient care.
Visit our nursing heritage website, a celebration of District Nursing around the world since 1859.
The QNI 2012 Conference: Healthcare at Home
Our ‘Healthcare at Home’ conference took place in London on Monday 15 October. Around 150 delegates heard from a range of senior speakers from nursing, primary care, healthcare policy and government.
Keynote speaker at the conference was Jane Cummings, Chief Nursing Officer for England, who spoke of the need to ‘energise nurses for excellence’.
Sally Brearley, Chair of the Nursing Care and Quality Forum, also spoke and paid tribute to the work of Queen’s Nurses in helping to ‘re-ignite pride in the profession’. Several Queen’s Nurses, including Candice Pellett, Jane Cook, Jane Gray, Amanda Huddleston and Janine McKnight, shared their professional experience and knowledge at the event in the main and seminar sessions.
The Department of Health chose the conference to launch a consultation on a new workplace model for district nursing. The consultation was introduced by Professor Viv Bennett, DH Director of Nursing, and Wendy Nicholson, Professional Officer, and will run until December.
Other strategic themes of the day were a home-based future for healthcare, the use of technology, and why community nursing needs a new model in the 21st century. Each theme was the subject of a panel discussion followed by questions from the floor.
The conference was followed by an evening reception to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the charity. George Plumptre, Chief Executive of The National Gardens Scheme, the QNI’s largest funder, spoke about the creation of NGS by the QNI in 1927, and the enduring relationship between the two charities that has enabled them to achieve so much in improving healthcare.
Dr Claire Chatterton, Chair of the RCN History of Nursing Society, spoke about the importance of history in helping us to contextualise society and helping to form a basis for compassion and care. The speakers were introduced by Crystal Oldman, who takes up the role of Director of the QNI on 12 November.
Rosalynde Lowe CBE, Chair of the QNI’s Council who chaired the conference said, ‘This was a great occasion with which to mark the 125th anniversary of the charity and to look forward to the challenges facing the nursing profession in the 21st century. The conference highlighted a consensus for the need to invest in community nursing services, so that care is available to people closer to home, where they need it. On the other hand some delegates expressed their concern that ‘non-replacement’ of retiring district nurses is leading to unnecessary hospital admissions, particularly out of hours.’
She added, ‘The knowledge and information shared at this conference will be of vital importance to the QNI and our partners in helping to design community nursing services that continue to meet patients’ needs in the years to come.’
Nurses are being encouraged to comment on the consultation on the new workplace model for district nursing by emailing wendy.nicholson@dh.gsi.gov.uk and/or joining in the debate via Twitter @wendyJNicholson and @VivJBennett.
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