Vol. 5 no. 4 2011

Your Practice

It is difficult to imagine, but back in 1984 there were less than 2,000 full-time equivalent practice nurses in the UK. By the millennium, there were nine times as many, with the number growing to more than 18,000 practice nurses.

Nurses have become an indispensable workforce for general practice and their roles have continued to develop. Although this growth is positive, as their role has changed so have the risks associated with this ever-expanding role. Nurses working at an advanced level must assess and manage risk, and proactively challenge others about risk.

This edition hones in on the risks of nursing in primary care and highlights a case where a nurse fell foul of the protocols that operated in her surgery.

An important point to get across is that practices should make sure that their nurses have the correct protection. In January 2012 the Royal College of Nursing will remove the indemnity element of their benefits of membership.

It is unlikely that GP members would be granted assistance from MPS for such claims against nurses working in extended roles, eg, nurse practitioners, and for this reason, practices are strongly advised to ensure that these nurses have and maintain their own indemnity arrangements.

For more information about this please contact the MPS membership on 08457 187 187 or email member.help@mps.org.uk.

Once again I hope you enjoy this issue.

Dr Richard Stacey – Editor-in-chief
MPS Medicolegal Adviser