Nursing and Midwifery Strategy Appraisal Objectives (20182020)
The Nursing and Midwifery Strategy 20182020 set out a framework for improving patient care, workforce development, and professional standards across the United Kingdom. The strategy was built around a series of appraisal objectives that guided policy, education, and practice. This page summarises those objectives, explains their purpose, and highlights the key achievements and ongoing challenges.
Core Vision
At the heart of the strategy was a commitment to:
- Place patients at the centre of all care.
- Enhance the quality, safety and effectiveness of nursing and midwifery services.
- Develop a skilled, diverse, and resilient workforce.
- Promote evidencebased practice and continuous learning.
Appraisal Objectives Overview
1. Strengthen Clinical Leadership and Governance
Leadership is essential for translating policy into practice. The objective focused on:
- Expanding the number of senior nursing and midwifery leaders in acute, community and primarycare settings.
- Embedding robust governance structures to monitor outcomes and drive improvement.
- Providing leadership development programmes such as the Clinical Leadership Programme (CLP) and the Nurse/Midwife Partnership Programme.
2. Advance Workforce Planning and Development
This objective aimed to ensure the right staff, with the right skills, were available where needed.
- Implementation of a national nursing and midwifery workforce plan, aligning education capacity with service demands.
- Creation of new apprenticeship routes and higherlevel degree pathways.
- Improved retention strategies, including flexible working and mentalhealth support.
3. Promote a Culture of Learning and Professional Development
Continuous learning was central to maintaining high standards of care.
- Support for the revalidation process, ensuring nurses and midwives demonstrate competence on a threeyear cycle.
- Expansion of the University Clinical Placements Scheme to increase exposure to diverse clinical environments.
- Greater use of digital learning platforms and simulation labs.
4. Enhance PatientCentred Care and Safety
Patient safety and experience guided all clinical work.
- Implementation of the Safe Staffing standards to ensure safe nursepatient ratios.
- Development of the Midwifery Care Model, focusing on continuity of carer for pregnant women.
- Embedding patient feedback mechanisms into routine appraisal processes.
5. Foster InterProfessional Collaboration
Recognising that health outcomes improve when professionals work together.
- Creation of integrated care teams that include nurses, midwives, pharmacists, physiotherapists and social workers.
- Joint training initiatives and shared competency frameworks.
- Funding for collaborative research projects that address systemwide challenges.
6. Support EvidenceBased Practice and Research
Embedding research within everyday practice was a strategic priority.
- Expansion of the Nursing and Midwifery Research Fellowship scheme.
- Introduction of research quickstart grants for frontline staff.
- Mandating the use of clinical guidelines derived from robust evidence across all NHS trusts.
Key Achievements (20182020)
- By 2020, 85% of NHS trusts reported that they had met the safestaffing standards for adult acute units.
- More than 12,000 nurses and midwives completed the Clinical Leadership Programme, with 40% progressing to senior management roles.
- The revalidation process achieved a 96% compliance rate among registered professionals.
- Midwifery continuity of carer models were implemented in 70% of maternity units, resulting in a 10% reduction in preterm births.
- National apprenticeship enrolments increased by 35% compared with the 2017 baseline.
Ongoing Challenges
Despite notable progress, several issues persisted at the close of the 20182020 period:
- Staff shortages: Certain specialties, especially mental health and community nursing, continued to face recruitment gaps.
- Retention: Burnout rates remained high, highlighting the need for further investment in wellbeing programmes.
- Data integration: Collecting consistent, realtime data on staffing and patient outcomes proved difficult across devolved health systems.
- Education capacity: University places for nursing and midwifery were still insufficient to meet projected demand.
Future Directions
The appraisal objectives of 20182020 laid a foundation for the next strategic cycle (20212024). Building on that work, the future agenda emphasizes:
- Greater investment in digital health and telemidwifery to expand access.
- Enhanced support for diversity and inclusion within the workforce.
- Stronger links between research findings and frontline practice through rapidimplementation pathways.
- Continued focus on sustainable staffing models that balance quality of care with workforce wellbeing.
Through these objectives and the ongoing commitment of nurses, midwives, educators, and policymakers, the UK aims to deliver safe, highquality, patientcentred care for the years ahead.
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