The NHS is going through hard times. The Prime Ministers says we are in for a challenging year. The use of agency nursing staff is being minimised or fully banned. Tony is right. The impact of this, especially on ward based staff, is going to be substantial. What level of patient care can be provided under these circumstances? Some Trusts have responded to this by taking Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs) away from their normal role for one or two days per week to make up the numbers on the ward. Cancer services, for many years now, have seen the CNS role as integral to the quality of cancer services. So how do nurses caring for cancer patients, at any level or in any area, feel about this approach?

I want you to consider three ways of viewing this:
1. A necessary evil during difficult times. It won’t last forever and CNSs are glad to help out.
2. An appallingly bad use of the knowledge and skills of a CNS which questions whether the Trust is compliant with the Manual of Cancer Standards site specific measures.
3. A great opportunity for Clinical Nurse Specialists to work alongside the ward based nurses, role modelling expert nursing practice and educating nurses in their area of expertise and maybe that is where they should spend more of their time, even under more ‘normal’ circumstances.  

Have I hit a raw nerve? Which of the three ways of viewing this issue resonates with you? Is this a crisis for CNSs or a constructive development of their role? Please let me have your comments and views. UKONS will consider your opinions and comments and display the really juicy ones at the UKONS meeting in Cardiff on September 11th – 13th and here on the UKONS website.

To submit your comments, and to read the comments of others, click on the ‘Comment’ link below.

Maggie Crowe, UKONS Board