Beverley Malone to visit West Suffolk Hospital

Media Invitation

Time:      2pm

Date:      Monday 16th February

Venue:   Main reception, West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds

Beverley Malone, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, will visit the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds on 16^th February. She will tour selected wards and meet with patients and staff as part of a general fact-finding exercise. Media are invited to attend at 2pm for a photo-opportunity.

Lindsay Pike, respiratory nurse specialist, will be escorting Ms Malone around the hospital during her visit.

“We are pleased to welcome Ms Malone to the West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust and hope that she will find her visit informative,” said Lindsay. “The idea behind the visit is so that Ms Malone can see the service we provide for herself, and identify areas of nursing best practice which can be extended to other hospitals throughout England. Similarly, she can suggest ways for us to make improvements.”

Beverley Malone will meet with the Trust’s Director of Nursing, Nichole Day.  The main items they will discuss are the recruitment and retention of nurses, staff education and ‘Agenda for Change’.

“Recruitment and retention is one of the biggest issues facing the nursing profession, as demand for qualified nurses increases faster than supply,” said Nichole Day.  “Ms Malone is interested in how we are addressing this problem in west Suffolk, for example by encouraging nurses who have taken a career break to return to work. She is in a privileged position to let us know about schemes which have worked in other parts of the country, and which we may be able to introduce here.”

‘Agenda for Change’ is a national initiative aimed at standardising terms and conditions, and pay scales, for NHS staff. During her visit, Ms Malone will explain to Nichole Day how this is likely to affect nurses working for the West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust.

12 February 2004