What’s in a name? Health visiting is health visiting
Abstract
There is no mention of 'health visitors' or 'health visiting' at any point in the wording of the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 that, nevertheless, makes provision for regulation of the profession. It is argued that omitting the name of the profession from the statute leads to a confusing ambiguity and failure to recognise the extent of meaning embodied in the term 'health visiting.' This is explained by the way the term can be used as a noun, to signify the profession as a whole; as a verb which details activities undertaken by health visitors or as an adjective to describe matters, such as service organisation, pertaining to health visiting.
Provision in the statute to establish a register for 'community specialists in public health' increases the confusion because there is no such occupation or qualification. A quicker, clearer way of expanding the health visiting register is suggested as an alternative