Welcoming a new cohort of Charity Scholars

Nottingham Hospitals Charity has funded a cohort of 12 new nursing and midwifery scholars to further develop nursing and midwifery leadership and innovation at Nottingham’s NHS hospitals.

The Charity has given £52,800 to help fund specialist degrees for the group of nurses and midwives, who have now begun a BSc in Leading and Innovation in Nursing and Health and Social Care Practice at Nottingham Trent University.

These experienced nurses and midwives applied through a highly competitive process for the scholarships, securing a sought after place on this degree programme. The course will enable them to study innovation and leadership in clinical practice, undertake a work-based improvement project to further develop excellence in care for patients across Nottingham Hospitals, and implement new ideas within their clinical areas.

This degree programme was developed in partnership between Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, the Institute of Care Excellence and Nottingham Trent University, with funding from Nottingham Hospitals Charity.

The so-called ‘Charity Scholars’ are all existing nursing and midwifery staff at Nottingham’s NHS hospitals and will also act as ambassadors for Nottingham Hospitals Charity, actively supporting the Charity’s aims and vision to improve care for patients and families across Nottinghamshire.

This is the second cohort of Charity Scholars to be funded by Nottingham Hospitals Charity – the first cohort began their degrees in September 2020, and have now completed them. The degree has helped the scholars enact positive and impactful changes in their areas of work.

One of the new Scholars is Kate Berridge, a Preceptorship and Development Nurse at Nottingham Children’s Hospital. She said: “I am extremely privileged and proud to have been selected and supported to do my degree through Nottingham Hospitals Charity. It will make a huge impact on the education I deliver to newly qualified nurses entering their career for the first time.

“I will have the ability to pilot projects and work closely with my manager and team to make consistent service improvement, which will in turn lead to improved patient care. It will be a challenge, but with the university and charity’s support it will improve my nursing practice tenfold!”

Barbara Cathcart, Chief Executive at Nottingham Hospitals Charity, said: “We are so proud to welcome our 12 new Charity Scholars onto this programme. As a Charity, we remain committed to investing in staff wellbeing and development at Nottingham’s hospitals. We know that supported and empowered staff in turn lead to better patient outcomes, and we look forward to seeing what our new scholars will achieve as part of their courses.

“We wish all our Charity Scholars the very best of luck as they embark upon this exciting programme.”