At RCN Wales we are passionate about connecting with our members and stakeholders from the independent, health and social care (IHSC) sector. With this in mind, this year we have held a series of roundtable events solely for nursing staff working in these services across Wales.
The roundtables provide an opportunity to socialise, network, share knowledge and learning, and discuss challenges and new approaches. They are hosted by independent employers in the workplace and a specific topic is discussed and explored.
A recent roundtable was hosted by Fieldbay, a social care provider for people who have complex needs associated with mental illness, and Louise Giles – Fieldbay’s Head of Learning and Development – led a fantastic discussion centred around using collaborative networks within IHSC.
Louise shared how she had managed to negotiate funding for five of her health care support worker (HCSW) employees to access their undergraduate nursing course while continuing to work in their usual care home setting. This is an issue that RCN Wales has been influencing on for some time so I was keen to hear more from Louise, as well as from one of the HCSWs from the new cohort.
Here’s what Louise had to say about the journey so far
"With my previous experience in NHS Wales and working in a higher education institution, I had been involved in accessing the flexi route to pre-registration nursing and experienced the benefits of developing the HCSW workforce.
When I joined Fieldbay a year ago, the director voiced her desire to develop our senior carer workforce and grow our own nurses. We developed a Nursing Academy and started the journey with commitment to support and fund five colleagues on the pre-registration nursing programme. The Open University (OU) were the most open and excited institution to work with us on this and so we shortlisted for interview from the first group of 36 applicants.
At this point the OU were commissioned to recruit up to 30 places for the independent sector in Wales and so it was fortuitous that our successful cohort of five would have funded places to commence their pre-registration nursing degree in October 2023.
The OU programme meets our student accessibility needs and, because their cohorts are UK-wide, our students are able to access adult, mental health or learning disability nursing, whatever the numbers.
We have now shortlisted a further 15 people (from 30 applicants) for interview in the hope of accessing more funded places for the February 2024 cohort. We are thrilled for our colleagues and excited about the future of nursing careers here in Fieldbay."
Leon Evans, new student and positive behaviour practitioner at Fieldbay, shares what this opportunity means to them
"I have supported service users of varying ages and mental health conditions for over 14 years, during which time I have looked at many different avenues of how I could train to become a mental health nurse. I was unable to accept the university offers I had as it did not benefit me financially.
Becoming a mental health nurse has always been an interest and goal of mine as it relates to my current experiences and knowledge whilst providing me with an opportunity to develop as a clinician. Pursuing a career in which I will get the opportunity to help people is motivating for me.
I have been very patient over the years and given 100% in my role as a positive behaviour practitioner within Fieldbay. When I found out they were looking for candidates to enrol on the fantastic opportunity of working while you learn with the OU to become a nurse, I instantly knew that this opportunity was for me. I was encouraged to pursue this degree by my family, friends, and colleagues, and I know it is the right step to take. Fieldbay has always been very supportive with me and have given me many opportunities over the years. I cannot thank them enough for this wonderful gesture of selecting me to be one of the candidates to be enrolled on the course.
I am very excited about starting the course as it will give me an opportunity to continue with my current role, which I thoroughly enjoy. I am looking forward to gaining experience within other settings and developing an understanding of the ways other services deal with mental health. I am also very much looking forward to gaining a theoretical knowledge of mental health nursing to expand my skills further."
Widening access in this way is a really exciting development and reflects the call for career pathways in our report, Caring for older people: The essential role of the care home nurse.
There are four independent sector roundtables planned this year at different locations across Wales. They’re free events for both members and non-members. Previous discussion topics have included:
- How can we facilitate greater collaboration amongst nurses working across the Independent and Social Care sector in Wales?
- How do we recruit and retain nurses into the Independent and Social Care sector in Wales?
- Ways in which nurses are able to work together across organisations to improve standards.
Our next roundtable will take place virtually on Tuesday 5 December and will will look at how we can collectively raise the profile and voice of the independent health and social care sector in Wales. If you have any experience of influencing change and making your voice heard we would love to hear from you if you would like to share this at our event! Bookings close on Friday 24 November.
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