Community Nursing Services (Hansard, 25 November 1987)

§ Mr. Grist

I am publishing today the report of the review of community nursing services in Wales which was set up two years ago under the chairmanship of Mrs. Noreen Edwards, chairman of Gwynedd health authority. Mrs. Edwards and her review group have completed a wide-ranging examination of nursing services in the community. In doing so, they have not confined themselves to specific community nursing issues but have looked at the wider primary care setting in which such services are delivered, covering such important matters as relations with general medical practitioners and the patient's access to services. I think it appropriate, therefore, that this report should be published today alongside the Government's White Paper on primary health care so that both documents can be read in conjunction with one another.

In all, Mrs. Edwards' report contains 36 recommendations— on nursing in the community; on teamwork in primary health care; on the planning and management of primary health care; and on nurse education and training. I believe that the report is a very valuable one in the context of the public consideration of community nursing and primary care matters, upon which Wales has its own distinctive contribution to make, as the White Paper makes clear. It is my intention to consult widely on all the recommendations in the report with the exception of those concerning nurse education and training which, as the report acknowledges are covered by consideration of the UKCC's proposals in relation to Project 2000. I have arranged therefore for copies to be distributed throughout the Health Service in Wales and to the various professional groups. I have asked that their comments on the report be submitted to me within the next six months. Texts of the 204W report have also been placed in the Library of both Houses and I have arranged for copies to be issued to all Members having constituencies in Wales.

Arrangements were made for the report's translation at the earliest possible moment, but I regret that this is not completed. However, I thought that it would be right to go ahead with publication today to keep in step with the issue of the White Paper and I hope that the Welsh version of the report will be available very soon. The separate summary of the report's conclusions and recommendations is available in both Welsh and English versions.