Published on: 22nd January 2019
The first wave of Lincolnshire's nursing associates have embarked on their new careers in care across the county.
There are 28 of the trailblazing recruits qualifying this week (w/c 21 January), after undergoing a challenging two-year course in partnership with the University of Lincoln, to equip them with all the skills they need for their new healthcare roles.
Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT), Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS) and United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) are some of the first Trusts in the country to take on the nursing associates after being involved in the initial pilot project back in 2017.
The nursing associate role has been launched in a bid to bridge the gap between healthcare support staff and qualified nurses, to offer more support to patients on the wards and departments across Lincolnshire's hospitals.
Wendy Leighton, Lincolnshire Implementation Lead and Programme Lead for Nursing Associates at the University of Lincoln said:
The nursing associates are working in hospitals, nursing homes, mental health settings and in the community - this has been a true partnership approach.
I am incredibly proud to have been involved and of each and every one of them; a new role for the nursing family and an historic ‘first’ for Lincolnshire.”
The nursing associates will be working across the following clinical areas:
LPFT:
Ward 12 (Pilgrim)
Manthorpe Centre (Grantham)
Charlesworth Ward (Lincoln)
ULHT:
EAU in Grantham
Hatton Ward (Lincoln)
7A (Pilgrim)
8A (Pilgrim)
A&E at both Pilgrim and Lincoln
Stroke unit in Pilgrim
Bevan (Pilgrim)
Waddington Unit (Lincoln)
Shuttleworth Ward (Lincoln)
Lancaster Ward (Lincoln)
Theatres in Pilgrim
9A (Pilgrim)
5A (Pilgrim)
3B (Pilgrim)
7B (Pilgrim)
Integrated Assessment Centre (Pilgrim)
LCHS:
Scotter Ward (John Coupland Hospital, Gainsborough)
Grantham Integrated Community Team
Bourne Integrated Community Team
Boston Integrated Community Team
