On 24 September, over 120 nurses and midwives from across the South West came together in Taunton to take part in a regional engagement event for the Chief Nursing Officer’s (CNO) Professional Strategy for Nursing and Midwifery.

Led by Duncan Burton, CNO for England, the strategy aims to co-develop a compelling long-term vision for nursing and midwifery across all settings. It will reflect the evolving health and care landscape, including the recently published 10-Year Health Plan, and is expected to be published in December 2025.

The South West event was organised by NHS England’s South West Regional Nursing Directorate, using the ‘South West Way’ team-of-teams approach. Attendees included colleagues from Integrated Care Boards, acute, community and primary care settings, Public Health, Health and Justice, the Military, Education, Care Sector and students.

Deputy Director of Nursing Bernadette Edwards (RN MSc) said: “It is a great pleasure to bring together Nurses and Midwives across the South West to contribute to the CNO Professional Strategy for Nursing and Midwifery ensuring that we are involved in the development of the strategy… I look forward to recognising our contribution being visible in the strategy.”

The engagement period has now been extended to 13 October, and all nurses and midwives – across NHS, Social Care, Independent Sector, Military and beyond – are encouraged to take part by completing the online survey.

For more information, visit the NHS Professional Strategy for Nursing and Midwifery page.