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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES BY DEPUTY G.C.L. BAUDAINS OF ST CLEMENT
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 9th OCTOBER 2007
Question
Would the Minister inform members how many layers of management exist at Health and Social Services between the Chief Executive Officer and nurses and state whether he will be taking any steps to amend the present structure?
Answer
Nurses work in a variety of health and social care contexts with differing levels of clinical complexity and freedom to act in their various roles. Across the Department, the number of layers of management between a nurse and the Chief Executive varies from two to four. In Education Services within Health and Social Services for example, a nurse may report to a nurse manager who then reports to the Director of Nursing and then the Chief Executive (two layers). On a General and Acute ward, a nurse reports to a ward sister who in turn reports to a senior nurse. The senior nurse reports to the Directorate Manager who reports to the Chief Executive (three layers). In some social care and community settings, where a nurse may work with significant autonomy, there are four layers. Such levels of management are comparable with other Island and National Health authorities.
The driver behind levels of management in nursing is patient safety and clinical governance. The profession has gone through significant changes in recent years driving through significant improvements in the role of nurses and their impact upon patient care. As I am new to the post I intend to review all services within the Department.