Foreword
As Executive Director of Nursing I am delighted to recognise the
achievements, professionalism, commitment and dedication of
the nurses, midwives and health care support workers in the South Eastern Health and Social
Care Trust. As the largest sub-section of the overall Trust workforce they are central to ensuring
patients and clients have a safe, high quality and positive journey through our care and treatment
system.
This celebratory report shares a small sample of the many achievements and success of our
nursing and midwifery teams across the range of services during the 2017 year.
Over the last year the rise in demand for services has continued and we, in common with
colleagues across the region, have faced nursing workforce shortages. As the Chief Nursing
Officer recently highlighted, there are no quick solutions, it takes three full years to train our
high calibre graduate professional nurses and midwives. However the issue is being actively
addressed both locally and regionally.
I believe it is important to recognise the pressure associated with growing demand and the gaps
in staffing and reaffirm our support for staff. Despite these pressures over this period, nursing
and midwifery staff have demonstrated tenacity to continue to deliver person centred, safe and
effective care. This has required strong leadership and professionalism at every level in order
to innovate and inspire changes and alternative approaches to delivering care that is fit for the
future.
Staff have worked with patients, clients and carers to gain valuable insight into how we can
improve and delivered on many exemplars of transformation through focusing on what matters
most. It is often the small things that make the big difference, and on a daily basis I am humbled
to receive feedback from patients and their families about how a kind word or action has
significantly impacted on their overall experience. I feel honoured to be part of a nursing and
midwifery family where excellence and expertise are delivered in a skilled and compassionate
manner.
Going forward into 2018, we will continue to support development of our nursing and midwifery
staff and focus on creating teams and environments that are conducive to person centred
practice. Working alongside our multi-disciplinary and multi-professional colleagues we will
continue to meet the challenges, contribute to and lead on the transformation of services and
aim to deliver the standard of care to which we all aspire.
Director of Primary Care, Older People and
Executive Director of Nursing
Nicki Patterson
Director of Primary Care, Older People
and Executive Director of Nursing
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