Nurses and midwives in Rotherham will get to access extra peer support to help them through the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to funding from NHS Charities Together to the Rotherham Hospital and Community Charity.
The Nightingale Frontline NHS Leadership Support Service, run by the Florence Nightingale Foundation, is facilitated by volunteer senior nurses and allows colleagues from The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust to access additional mentoring they may need.
Helen Dobson, Deputy Chief Nurse at the Trust, said:
“We’re incredibly proud of how our nursing and midwifery colleagues have coped with the unprecedented demands they have faced during the Covid-19 outbreak. They have shown such inspiring team spirit, supporting each other as they care for patients in often stressful and emotional circumstances.
“The Trust is working hard to continue to support our colleagues through such a demanding time in their careers. Providing access to the Nightingale Frontline NHS Leadership Support Service means we can match nurses and midwives with their peers from other NHS trusts nationally in a safe and supportive environment.
“It provides an opportunity for them to discuss any leadership issues which may arise due to the pandemic, to share ideas, experiences and best practice. This will ultimately benefit their wider teams and the care we provide to our patients.
“I’ve no doubt it will reinforce their strengths and give them the boost they need to tackle challenges and stressful situations in the future and to become stronger leaders.”
The Florence Nightingale Foundation is accessed remotely through video conferencing and has been so popular it has helped more than 230 nurses and midwives since April 2020, with up to 80 sessions planned per month for the coming months. The service will be available to newly registered nurses and midwives to senior leaders and executive directors until at least October 2020.
Dr Gemma Stacey, Director of the Florence Nightingale Foundation Academy, said:
“The sessions provide a safe space to explore leadership challenges, ethical conflicts and career decisions. Our facilitators are skilled in drawing out collective learning. We are seeing huge benefit arising from sharing experiences across different organisational practices and gaining alternative perspectives.”
Urgent Appeal Grants
Grants given to NHS charities are used to meet the immediate and urgent needs of patients, staff and volunteers. Funding is also going towards helping partnerships outside hospitals, such as hospices, community healthcare and social care, making sure patients leaving hospital have access to the care they need to recover. In the longer term it will also fund programmes to help staff and volunteers recover fully once the crisis has abated, reducing the long-term impact on them and the people they care about.
About the Urgent Appeal
The NHS Charities Together Urgent Appeal acknowledges and supports NHS staff and volunteers caring for COVID-19 patients. It has been put together in liaison with NHS England and national bodies, our member NHS charities and national giving platforms. Click here to donate.
