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The Minister for Health Simon Harris welcomed the launch of an event today to reaffirm the Values of Nursing and Midwifery in Ireland. The Minister was joined at this event in Farmleigh House by the Chief Nursing Officer, Dr Siobhan O’Halloran, the President of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI), Ms Essene Cassidy and the Director of Nursing and Midwifery Services in the HSE, Ms Mary Wynne.

A national consultation process asked nurses and midwives to identify, agree and commit to core values that underpin practice in Ireland. The extensive national consultation identified and agreed Compassion, Care, and Commitment as the three core values that underpin nursing and midwifery practice in Ireland. These values and their associated behaviours are the very essence of nursing and midwifery practice and form the basis for professional decision making and actions. Taken together these values represent the unique contribution of nursing and midwifery to safe patient care. The HSE and the NMBI are committed to supporting nurses and midwives to practice these values. The values are endorsed and supported by the Office of the Chief Nursing Officer.

Values are ingrained principles that guide the actions of nurses and midwives. A position paper on these values was launched at this event. The purpose of the position paper is to clearly articulate the core values underpinning and guiding the practice as determined by nurses and midwives in Ireland. These values will be reaffirmed and supported by all nurses and midwives. Processes will be put in place to ensure that all nurses and midwives reaffirm the values on a regular basis.
Minister Harris said that “I am delighted to be here today to support and encourage you in your endeavours to continue to provide the highest standards of care to patients through your compassion, care and commitment.”