Here, Professor Ann Hemingway, Public Health and Wellbeing, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Bournemouth University and Joanne Bosanquet, Deputy Chief Nurse, Public Health England and Visiting Professor, University of Surrey, explain how nurses must be prepared for their roles as advocates and seek to have influence over local policies which impact on health and the design of healthcare services.
I have worked in and out of community nursing since qualifying as an adult nurse 12 years ago. Although I have worked alongside a diverse range of community services, including district nursing, specialist long-term condition services and rapid response, the last six years have seen my main focus in community intravenous (IV) therapy. More recently, I have been working within the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre community IV service, where I have worked with an excellent team of eight registered nurses and one healthcare assistant to recreate what is now an established nurse-led IV service, where we are able to provide a wide range of IV therapies to the local population, without the need for hospital attendance.
