CNO encourages nurses to ‘speak up for what’s right’

The chief nursing officer (CNO) for England has encouraged nursing and midwifery professionals to lead, ‘speak up for what’s right’ and ‘make space for new ideas’ across their workplaces.

Duncan Burton was addressing an audience of nursing and midwifery professionals from a range of health and care settings at the Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) 2024/25 Scholar Conference, attended by Nursing in Practice.

‘The landscape of health and care is complex and ever-changing. It demands not only skill and resilience, but bold visionary leadership,’ Mr Burton said.

Kindness in leadership

He highlighted the importance of ‘inclusive leadership’ and ensuring that all colleagues voices are ‘heard, respected and valued’.

‘As leaders, we have a responsibility to make sure diverse perspectives are reflected in how we work and how we make decisions,’ he said.

‘And of course, the thing that anchors us to all of this is our professional values, compassion, accountability, advocacy, excellence and importantly, kindness to lead for the future. We must be willing to envisage it and build it,’ Mr Burton said.

He described courage in leadership as ‘speaking up for what’s right’ and stressed that this doesn’t always mean ‘grand gestures’.

‘It’s standing beside your teams in times of uncertainty, making hard decisions guided by data, compassion and doing what is right for patients, communities and colleagues,’ Mr Burton added.

Willingness to innovate

Nurses must be ‘open to change’ and keen to ‘innovate’ and ‘embrace technology’, Mr Burton told attendees.

‘That includes making space for new ideas, mentoring the next generation of professionals and designing systems of care that are equitable and sustainable,’ he added.

Mr Burton’s comments were followed by speeches from the deputy chief nursing officers (DCNOs) for both Wales and Northern Ireland.

Gillian Knight, the DCNO for Wales, announced that the Welsh Government will be launching a new five-year ‘vision’ for nursing next month.

She outlined the key themes of the plan, which focuses on the importance of population-focused and preventative healthcare.