West Midlands wins top grant to improve prison healthcare

The award, from charity the Burdett Trust for Nursing, has been given to launch a new three year project in partnership with the University of Wolverhampton. This groundbreaking project will enable nurses to apply holistic evidence-based nursing practice to the benefit of the offender health community.

The project, the first in the UK, will provide nurses working in prison healthcare across the region with training and development to help them become leaders.

Some of the money from the Burdett Trust will be used to fund a Burdett Trust Reader at the University of Wolverhampton. The successful candidate will support nurses who embark on the programme through supervision, and work with, expert research and leadership mentoring teams.

Nurses on the programme will be able to access work-based learning and also gain academic credits. The aim is for them to develop their confidence and credibility as leaders to improve care for patients.

Training programmes such as this also have proven benefits in improving staff morale and retention.

Peter Blythin, Director of Nursing & Workforce at NHS West Midlands, said:

"NHS West Midlands is delighted to be awarded this funding from the Burdett Trust for Nursing.

 "It is a real opportunity to further improve offender healthcare in the region, and also raise the profile of the nursing staff who fulfil this challenging, but often forgotten, role.

"I look forward to the recruitment of the Burdett Trust Reader and seeing the results of the training programme."

ENDS

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