Teaching trust bids to train 80 Professional Nurse Advocates for 2025

Pictured above: Nchima Mwaba, Pastoral, Career & Cultural Lead for IENs and Professional Nurse Advocate at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust.

Aiming to provide further development to its clinical workforce,local NHS organisation Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust (MYTT) has launched an ambitious bid to train 80 Professional Nurse Advocates (PNAs) as part of its commitment to boost its wellbeing support.

The Professional Nurse Advocates role was first introduced into nursing from midwifery after the Covid-19 pandemic, to address the ongoing challenges faced by healthcare professionals, ensuring they are better equipped to provide high-quality care while receiving the support they need.

The Professional Nurse Advocate programme is based on the NHS's Advocating for Education and Quality Improvement (A-EQUIP) model, which promotes restorative clinical supervision, personal action for quality improvement, education and development to benefit both patients and staff.

As the nursing profession continue to face the pressures of increased demand and the mental health impact of the pandemic, the trust seeks to create a robust network of support across its nursing workforce that aligns with the national NHS priority to improve staff wellbeing and retention.

Talib Yaseen, Chief Nursing Officer said:

We understand that staff wellbeing is closely linked to the quality of care delivered to patients. By training a new cohort of Professional Nurse Advocates, we are prioritising the wellbeing and resilience of our nursing workforce by providing staff with the tools and support needed to succeed both personally and professionally, ultimately enhancing outcomes for our patients.

Over the next year, the trust will roll out this training programme, integrating Professional Nurse Advocates into various departments across the three hospital sites and within the community, with a particular focus on supporting newly qualified nurses and nursing teams working in high-pressure areas. The next cohort of nurses expected to start training in January 2025 with the aim of full programme completion by December 2025.