Report highlights the need to raise the profile of school nursing in Scotland as the country faces increasing complex needs of school aged children and young people.
The report, titled “Raising the Profile of School Nursing in Scotland”, was published by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and brought to light by the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland (QNIS) as part of their work on Scotland’s nursing workforce.
Dr Elaine Allan, QNIS Fellow and lecturer on the Nursing MSc Advanced Practice degree at Robert Gordon University, stressed the importance of addressing the gaps in mental health and wellbeing services for school aged children. She also supported the recommendations made by the RCN members to address Scotland’s nursing workforce crisis.
These recommendations include a nursing retention strategy based on the findings of the RCN’s third report on Scotland’s nursing workforce and a call to increase the number of school nurses, who provide specialist support to school aged children.
In England, The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published in June last year, has pledged to increase the number of training places for school nurses by 28% by 2031-32. The School and Public Health Nurse Association (SAPHNA) is calling for similar investment in Scotland to enhance the Scottish Government’s commitment to the Scottish school nursing workforce, made in 2018.
Dr Allan stated, “The report is timely given the return of schools for the autumn semester, and the increasing needs of school aged children and young people specifically related to the gaps in mental health and wellbeing services, for example, which school nurses attempt to fill.”
She also highlighted the recent launch of a campaign by SAPHNA in partnership with QNI and the College of Medicine, which aims to raise awareness of the findings from the recent RCN report on Scotland’s nursing workforce and the need to increase the profile of school nursing.
Dr Allan emphasized the vital role of school nurses in promoting the health and wellbeing of children and young people, stating, “It is vital that the school nursing profession collectively find a way to raise their profile to improve understanding of the value of the School Nurse role which is underpinned by a child rights-based approach to delivering services to children and young people.”
Sharon White, Chief Executive Officer of SAPHNA, added, “The health and wellbeing needs of our children are escalating and becoming more complex. Long waiting lists for treatments such as dental care and child and adolescent mental health services, coupled with the impact of the wider determinants of health, particularly poverty, are giving rise to distressed, unhealthy, and unhappy children.”
She stressed the importance of prevention and an upstream approach, stating that “urgent reinvestment in public health school nursing is a must” to address these issues.
Shona Gray, a mother of two from Aberdeenshire, recently completed RGU’s Nursing MSc Advanced Practice and a PGDip qualification in school nursing. She is now a trainee specialist school nurse for NHS Grampian and is working in schools in Bucksburn, Hazlehead, and Northfield.
Gray, who returned to study after working in the oil and gas industry, shared her experience of balancing study with a busy homelife, stating, “The support received from RGU has allowed me to grow as a practitioner and empowered me to be the best version of myself.”
She emphasized the importance of the role of school nurses in promoting early intervention and prevention to ensure children and young people reach their full potential, stating, “An increase in school nurse recruitment as suggested by SAPHNA’s ‘A school nurse for every school’ campaign, would allow the school nursing service to deliver an early intervention service to its fullest.”
In an effort to raise awareness of the realities of School & Public Health Nursing in the UK, SAPHNA has launched a survey, “The Forgotten Frontline: Public Health School Nursing”, and is encouraging people to sign their petition, #ASchoolNurseinEverySchool.
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.