On 21st and 22nd September 2010, the 10th Annual Small Communities Conference for Nursing and Midwifery will be hosted by the Department of Health here on the Isle of Man in the Lecture Theatre at Keyll Darree, Braddan. The Conference will be attended by more than 140 delegates from Jersey, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Germany and the Isle of Man. The two-day event will focus on the Nurse’s role in ensuring patient safety and delegates will hear presentations of best practice and innovations from each of the five countries. This year’s Conference is especially important as it is the 10th Anniversary of this annual meeting and to celebrate this, a highly prestigious Keynote Speaker will open the Conference. Professor Dickon Weir-Hughes is the Chief Executive Officer and Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (UK), the governing body with which all nurses and midwives within the British Isles are registered. Professor Weir-Hughes is a highly regarded nurse leader and is the former Director of Nursing and Midwifery at the famous Royal Marsden Cancer Hospital in London. He will open the Conference with a speech about the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s role in ensuring the safety of patients, the public and nursing practitioners. Bev Critchlow, Chief Nurse for the Isle of Man, said: “We are pleased that our colleagues from Jersey, Guernsey, Gibraltar and Germany are able to spend some time with us. It will be a real privilege to host the Conference this year. It allows Nurses from all communities to share experiences and innovations and learn alongside each other. The whole aim is that they can take what they learn and put it in place in their own sphere of nursing, thus improving the care they provide to patients.” - ENDS -