The Florence Nightingale Foundation joins forces with Nuffield Health to advance nursing practice across the independent sector

The new leadership programme – run by the Florence Nightingale Foundation and commissioned by Nuffield Health – will see twenty nurses from across the independent sector take part in a blended learning programme that will be delivered over a 6-month period, starting in October 2022. 

The programme will focus on advancing clinical excellence and sustainable healthcare in the independent sector and will require nurses as part of the programme to implement a nurse-led quality improvement project to support environmental sustainability. Expert speakers and thought-leaders will contribute towards programme delivery and will facilitate service improvement and personal and professional development. The application process for this new leadership programme will begin in June and is open to any nurse working within the independent sector (including hospitals, hospices, not-for-profits).

The multi-year partnership also includes our annual sponsorship of one of our nurses to become a Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) Leadership Scholar. Additionally, we are becoming the exclusive clinical sponsor at the Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service at Westminster Abbey and the annual FNF Scholar Conference. 

The partnership aims to elevate the importance of nursing influence across the independent sector, encouraging nurses to improve clinical care through quality and service improvement, and policy development. For example, in a recent survey, 82.5% of FNF Leaderships Scholars identified that they made an impact to health and social care policy and practice at their workplaces. 

Greta Westwood (below right), Chief Executive Officer of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, says: “Partnering with Nuffield Health represents a significant new opportunity for the Foundation to support the development of the nursing workforce within the independent sector. 

“We are committed to extending access to our network and opportunities and view this partnership as central to achieving this. There are some amazing nurses in the independent sector. Importantly, we are aware that nurses working in the independent sector rarely have opportunity to influence beyond their local environment and therefore their unique experience and perspective is rarely captured within research or considered by policy makers. We view this bespoke partnership as offering both organisations the prospect of challenging this position by promoting knowledge exchange and collaborative thought-leadership.”

Our Chief Quality & Operating Officer, Caroline Smith, says: “We are delighted to partner with the Florence Nightingale Foundation so we can work together to elevate the importance of nursing roles across the independent sector. Nurses across all sectors showed leadership excellence during the pandemic and now is the right time to build upon this so that nurses across the independent sector can have a stronger voice and more opportunities to influence clinical policies, within their workplace and on a national level.”

Our Head of Quality & Professional Practice, Ben Davies (right), adds: “This partnership will provide a unique opportunity to cultivate clinical excellence through environmentally-sustainable service improvement. As healthcare providers work towards the achievement of net-zero goals, any and all initiatives that reduce carbon emissions must be embraced and championed. Nurses have a key part to play in this, driving improvement through carbon-reductive clinical initiatives and evidence-based practices. This programme will equip nurses with the knowledge and skills that enable them to do this effectively, empowering them as sustainability advocates and change agents of evidence-led, environmentally-conscious healthcare.”

The partnership builds on the relationship between the two charities that started with our sponsorship of the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife in 2020. 

Last updated Tuesday 10 May 2022

First published on Tuesday 10 May 2022