New grant from the Burdett Trust will create a unique Nursing Innovation Fellowship

The Burdett Trust for Nursing has awarded CW+ a generous grant to fund a unique Nursing Innovation Fellow position at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The new Nursing Innovation Fellow is the first role of its kind created specifically to spearhead nurse, midwife, and allied health professional-led projects as part of our CW Innovation programme, making a significant difference to patient care at the Trust’s hospitals and clinics.

The Nursing Innovation Fellow will work closely with the Trust’s senior nursing team, and the CW Innovation team, while building a cohort of outstanding clinical innovators and initiatives. Since CW Innovation was launched last year, the programme has already developed its relationships with some 70 companies and organisations.

“This generous support and unique partnership will enable a step-change in new initiatives led by nurses, midwives and allied health professionals at our hospitals.” said CW+ CEO Chris Chaney. “CW Innovation has made a marked difference to our hospitals in the year since its inception, with many innovations fast-tracked during the COVID-19 pandemic and now routinely in use. Working with a core innovation group, we are proud to have developed and delivered a diverse portfolio of staff-led programmes; this new partnership now enables us to enhance the reach and impact of this approach by creating and accelerating specific nurse-led innovations.”

Nurse-led innovation projects already play an important role at the Trust. The oral care project designed to prevent pneumonia in stroke patients, led by two nurses on the stroke ward at West Middlesex University Hospital, was recently nominated for an HSJ Award, and has been rolled out for use across other hospital wards.

The award from the Burdett Trust was formally announced today at the final of our annual funding call for nurses, midwives, and allied health professionals, where finalists were invited to present their proposals to a panel including Trust Chief Nurse Pippa Nightingale and delegates from NHS England. This year, the winner was announced as Hand Therapy: The Exercise Prescription App, in a virtual awards ceremony.

“The Nursing Innovation Fellow position tallies with the Burdett Trust for Nursing ethos to empower nurses and nurse-led projects,” said The Burdett Trust for Nursing Trustee Dame Christine Beasley.  “Since 2002 we have specifically targeted our grants at projects that are nurse-led, and that enable nurses to make significant improvements to the patient care environment.

“When we looked at CW Innovation, its philosophy and aims were an excellent match with our own to form this partnership. With nurses, midwives and allied health professionals making up the majority of the healthcare workforce, we were delighted that the Nursing Innovation Fellow will have the opportunity to make a difference by creating and leading innovative projects at a prestigious hospital trust.”