The RCN Foundation will provide funding for 3 years to the Care Home Nurses Network, allowing the project to extend to Wales and Northern Ireland.
The network, founded by the QNI and England’s chief nursing officer last year, will receive the three-year funding by the Foundation, which will enable the QNI to extend the reach of the project to nurses in Wales and Northern Ireland as well as England.
The support of the RCN Foundation demonstrates the growing recognition of the importance of this area of nursing practice. It is not always appreciated how many people live in care homes, but the latest estimate is over 410,000 people in the UK,’ said Dr Crystal Oldman, chief executive of the QNI.
‘Nurses working in these settings work with a range other professionals and family members to manage acute episodes of care as well as supporting residents with complex, multiple long-term conditions and of course, end of life care. When the QNI created our resource to support nurses moving the Care Home sector we learned how isolated they can feel in their roles and how much they would benefit from being part of a national network of nurses working in the same setting. They also become part of the wider family of nurses working in the community through the support and professional development opportunities offered at the QNI.’
As part of the network, there will a series regional workshops in 2020 which will cover topics such as caring for residents with complex wounds, caring for residents at the end of life and how to recognise signs of a deteriorating resident. The workshops will be facilitated by the Queen’s Nursing Institute and the subject sessions will be delivered by experts in their field. The workshops are free to attend and are open to all Registered Nurses working in the Care Home sector.
‘The RCN Foundation is delighted to be supporting this important initiative from the QNI. With a growing population of older people living in care homes, it is vital that nurses feel supported so that they can provide the very best possible care,’ said Deepa Korea, the director of the RCN Foundation.
‘That’s why supporting and strengthening nursing within the care home sector has been a key priority for the Foundation’s grant-making over the past five years, one in which we have already invested over half a million pounds. By funding the Care Home Nurses Network as the final project within our care homes programme, we firmly believe that this will be an appropriate legacy for the work we have undertaken.’