Faxyourmp

[Guest guest]

Enclosed my effort to Nick Soames Conservative MP in Sussex

Thanks for the extra guidance that you will see I have enclosed to

help with clarity of the position.

Please anyone feel free to reuse what I have written in their own

www.faxyourmp letters to keep the pot boiling.

Dear Hon Soames,

Thank you for your efforts on behalf of health visiting with regard to the

serious matter that is before Parliament at the present time - the new

Nursing and Midwifery Council to replace the UKCC (United Kingdom Nursing

Midwifery and Health Visiting Council). In respect of this the government

has spectacularly failed the health visiting profession and I fervently hope

you will sign the Early Day Motion number 100 put forward by Barry Gardiner

MP for Brent, which reads:

'That this House notes that health visiting is referred to in statute as a

separate profession like nursing and midwifery and that the title

'registered health visitor' is a statutory title in recognition of the

different skills required to do the job; is concerned that the draft

legislation entitled the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001, to be laid before

Parliament under section 62(9) of the Health Act 1999, only refers to two of

the professions in the proposed title of the new Nursing and Midwifery

Council, is concerned that if the order is passed without amendment health

visitors will not be referred to by name within the order; supports a change

of the Order's title to The Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting Order;

supports an amendment to the title of the Nursing and Midwifery Council to

include Health Visiting; recommends that the Council be required to

establish a statutory health visiting committee to advise them on matters of

education, training and standards of practice within health visiting.'

The reason that this EDM is stressing that health visiting is a separate

profession is because Health Minister Hutton,

responding to a Parliamentary Question on 3rd July, stated that the draft

Order provides for the regulation of health visiting as part of nursing and

midwifery. This is a very misguided position to take. In order to work as a

health visitor I undertook further post graduate full-time training of one

year on top of my 3 years general nurse training and in addition to my one

year midwifery training. That additional training of health visiting

expressly addressed social policy, psychology, child and family law, child

development and behaviour and much more that was related to promoting health

in communities. Over-arching all of this is the idea that health visitors

work with the well population to keep them well, they dont deal in sickness

which is largely what nursing is all about.

Health visitors on Senate have tried very hard along with colleagues up and

down the country to tell ministers that HEALTH VISITING IS CATEGORICALLY NOT

THE SAME AS NURSING. It seems that they have difficulty hearing.

I am in despair over the government platitudes regarding the situation and

in spite of Lord Hunt's letter (again thank you for your efforts in that

regard) I am not at all reassured by the governements actions.

Could you please assure me that I have your support on this matter and that

you will sign up to this motion in support of the profession of health

visiting. I gather that Parliament rises on Friday 20th July so it seems

that yet again time is of the essence.

Houston

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