The Nursing Development Team work across the Trust at both Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals. They have a wide remit in particular ensuring the implementation of the Nursing Strategy.

The team manages some of the Patient Focused Benchmarking ‘Essence of Care’, such as privacy, dignity & confidentiality, pressure ulcers and food & nutrition.

The team worked closely with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) when it became one of the first trusts to run the Clinical Leadership Programme for clinical leaders in 1998. The course participants include ward sisters and senior staff nurses from within the Trust. The team are also responsible for the band five and six nurse development programmes which explore current relevant issues that have an impact on patient care.

In addition to these large projects, the team also respond to more localised requirements. These include: strategic nursing development and communication of the nurse leaders in the Trust, the team chair, ward managers, practice educators and nurse specialists meetings; and providing support and advice for individuals presenting at conferences and writing for publication. Support and mentorship is also provided for those with changing or expanding roles, such as nurse specialists and nurse prescribers.

The team also represents nursing on various multidisciplinary trustwide groups on topics such as nutrition, medication safety, clinical records and confidentiality.