SKILLSHARING

For a number of years there has been a trend towards the sharing of sk ills, with their trans fer from one group with which they have been tr aditionally associated to another within the health care professions. Examples in medicine include nurses delivering care to patients with d iabetes mellitus, carrying out gastrointestinal endoscopy, administeri ng intravenous chemotherapy to patients with cancer, and contributing to the management of patients with myocardial infarction and with asth ma; opticians are employed in the screening of patients for glaucoma a nd diabetic retinopathy; and physiotherapy and radiography grew out of nursing. This movement is seen to be advantageous for patient care in that it extends the range and numbers of personnel. If this developme nt is to be fostered and to continue to represent an advance in the de livery of health care, it is necessary to lay down guidelines to ensur e that standards are maintained with safety and efficacy safe-guarded. It was for this reason that representatives of the Royal Colleges of Nursing and of Physicians of London met to agree a set of principles t hat, while constructed for medicine and nursing, should be of general application to all the professions involved in providing health care.