Endocrine Abstracts

The National Health Service and Nursing are currently facing challenging times. Continuing austerity measures combined with healthcare reform and a climate of professional uncertainty often results in nurses having to justify their existence.

The quality, innovation, productivity and prevention (QIPP) initiative sets out how the National Health Service is to make efficiency savings whilst improving the quality of care that patients receive. With the appropriate training, competency, professional accountability and support advanced nurse practitioners are in a unique position to work across the clinical interface and are good value for money in terms of patient safety, quality of service and efficiency, which are all high on the agenda at both government and NHS Trust level.

This journey to advanced nurse practitioner presentation explores the concept of nurses developing their role in an innovative manner and explains how the step from clinical nurse specialist to advanced nurse practitioner can have a high impact effect on both personal and professional development and service delivery.

The implementation of the advanced nurse practitioner role in endocrinology at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital is a new initiative and has moved from an embryonic phase to impacting positively upon service delivery and has been achieved through working collaboratively with clinicians, nursing colleagues and other members of the multidisciplinary team.