Enabling Hope House carers to progress to Nursing Associate roles

A pair of support workers from Hope House Children’s Hospices have started their education journey at the University of Chester to gain new qualifications to bridge the gap between their existing roles and those of registered nurses.

Two members of the Hospices’ Care Team, Rachel Bolderstone and Louise Hurdley, are combining studying one day a week with the University’s Faculty of Health and Social Care with on the job training to become Nursing Associates.

The Nursing Associate role has been created due to a national shortage in registered nurses. It aims to build more capacity in the nursing workforce and free up registered nurses to focus on more complex clinical duties.

Rachel has worked at Hope House for 11 years, and Louise for seven years. Louise said: “Being able to study and work at Hope House means that I can further my skills without having to leave the job I love. It also means that I will continue to receive support from the very experienced nursing team at Hope House,” she explained.

“The role will mean that as a Nursing Associate I will be able to take on some of the core work of nursing freeing up the Registered Nurses to be able to concentrate on the more complex care. This is especially important because it will give us the resources to continue to reach more families.”

Rachel is looking forward to learning more about the clinical side of nursing, and developing her skills.

“I’m grateful to Hope House for this opportunity and know I will have all the help and support I need while doing the course,” she added.

Hope House Head of Care Diane Hobday-Hulme, added: “Hope House as an employer has always placed emphasis on, and investment into, training our workforce in order to provide high standards of quality care.

“We need to have a flexible, dynamic and evolving workforce. The importance of children receiving end-of-life care from staff who are known to and trusted by them and their families is well established.

“The Nursing Associate role will enable us to have the right people, with the right skills, in the right place at the right time, both within the Hospice and in the community.”

Nursing Associates undertake a two-year, full-time apprenticeship with the University of Chester that gives them experience across all four fields of nursing as well as within different setting. Trainee Nursing Associates also attend the University one day per week to enable theory to be directly related to their practice settings. 

Katie Mansfield-Loynes, Programme Leader for the Nursing Associate programme at the University of Chester, said “The University has worked with Hope House over the past 18 months to ensure that the Nursing Associate role could be fully embedded within their service. It is fantastic that Rachel and Louise have now joined us within the September 2020 cohort. They bring with them a wealth of experience and share with us all the complexity of the work that is undertaken at both their Hospice and in their community.

“We’re really proud to be able to support dedicated health professionals like Rachel and Louise develop their careers and provide excellent care.”

Pictured - Rachel Bolderstone and Louise Hurdley