Nurse Support
Working in the Health Sector can be an incredibly rewarding job; but we all know that sometimes, the fast-paced environment, workloads and pressure that make it exciting can take its toll. Everyone can need some extra support or a place to turn to from time to time, whether it’s career advice or a more difficult subject, a signpost or a friendly ear can go a long way to solving the problem.
There are lots of places you can access support and advice; but when you are feeling under pressure, they can be hard to find. To make things a bit easier we have listed some resources that may be helpful.
Practitioner Health Service
Practitioner Health is a free, confidential NHS mental health treatment service with expertise in treating healthcare professionals. The service can help with mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. They also see healthcare professionals with more severe illnesses, such as bipolar affective disorder, personality disorders and psychosis and a range of addiction issues.
Complete a form on line via https://www.practitionerhealth.nhs.uk/; there is a section ‘to access our service.’ You will receive a response within 2 days on receipt of the registration form. You will then be assessed by a clinician who will establish the best and quickest way to offer support.
(W) www.practitionerhealth.nhs.uk
(T) +44 (0) 300 030 3300
(E) prac.health@nhs.net
If you are in crisis and feeling unable to cope, text NHSPH to 85258
Gloucestershire Primary Care Training Hub Support
Please do get in touch if you are ever unsure where to turn, we will usually know someone who can help.
In addition we can offer support through our dedicated
Legacy Mentors – provide a safe space to discuss concerns, provide support, concerns and career transition.
Contact – sarah.rogers11@nhs.net
Shiny mind
‘You can’t pour from and empty cup’
Nurses, Midwives & Healthcare Support Workers – ShinyMind
The Wellbeing Line
Unlocking confidential mental health and wellbeing support for anyone working in health and social care in Gloucestershire.
Zero Suicide Alliance
The Zero Suicide Alliance is a collaborative of National Health Service trusts, businesses and individuals who are all committed to suicide prevention in the UK and beyond. The alliance is ultimately concerned with improving support for people contemplating suicide by raising awareness of and promoting FREE suicide prevention training which is accessible to all. The aims of this training are to: enable people to identify when someone is presenting with suicidal thoughts/behaviour, to be able to speak out in a supportive manner, and to empower them to signpost the individual to the correct services or support.
To access their services and FREE training Click Here >
NHSE Coaching
Individual coaching support is available with an experienced coach. This will be a space for you to offload the demands of whatever you are experiencing and be supported in developing practical strategies for dealing with this. It might be that through a one-off conversation you have all the strategies you need to cope with your situation and stay well. Or you might find a few sessions helpful. It is all led by you.
Register and book a coaching session here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/supporting-our-nhs-people/wellbeing-support-options/looking-after-you-too/
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) – Managing Stress
Many nursing staff are brilliant at coping and don’t find it easy to speak up when they experience stress.
But there are limits to the pressures that we can all endure, and employers have a legal duty to assess and address the causes of work-related ill health, including stress.
On these pages, you’ll find resources to help manage your stress and access support. And you’ll find information for managers and RCN reps who work at an organisational level to create safe and healthy workplaces.
https://www.rcn.org.uk/Get-Help/Managing-stress
Nursing & Midwifery Council
Fitness to Practice Support – Careline – 0800 587 7396
We know the Fitness to Practise process can feel overwhelming and can sometimes lead to anxiety which makes it harder to cope with everyday tasks.
You might want to talk to someone who understands what you’re going through, and how you’re feeling, in complete confidence.
To help, we’ve partnered with CiC, a leading employee assistance provider, to give emotional support and practical help and advice to all nurses, midwives and nursing associates during the fitness to practise process.
The careline counsellors are experienced working with sensitive and personal information. They can also signpost you towards specialist organisations to help with specific issues.
“Cavell Nurses” Trust
This Trust is the charity that supports UK nurses, midwives, and healthcare assistants, both working and retired, when they’re suffering personal or financial hardship often due to illness, disability, older age, and domestic abuse. From simple, essential support like money to repair a broken cooker, to vital life changing aid like helping a family flee their home due to domestic abuse, Cavell Nurses’ Trust is here to help.
Nurse Leadership Development
There are lots of opportunities for Leadership development in Gloucestershire.
Have a look at some of the latest below:
South West Leadership Academy: Coaching for Primary Care Leaders
A national offer for Gloucestershire, a 2 day course provided by the South West Leadership Academy, Leading Effectively in Primary Care Networks.
Current cohort closed. For full details of this course and details of how you can register your interest click here
For information on coaching for leadership please click here
Professional Nurse Advocate
PNA training provides those on the programme with skills to facilitate restorative supervision to their colleagues and teams, in nursing and beyond. A version of this programme exists already for maternity colleagues, where outcomes point to improved staff wellbeing and retention, alongside improved patient outcomes. The training equips them to listen and to understand challenges and demands of fellow colleagues, and to lead support and deliver quality improvement initiatives in response.
For more about this national programme, contact the our central
Professional Nurse Advocates Team at england.nursingpna@nhs.net
Please contact Sarah – sarah.rogers11@nhs.net for further support if you would like to undertake this course.
NHS Leadership Academy
Develop new skills and discover new ways to improve your experience of work with short guides developed by experts. Open to anyone in health and care.
From bitesize learning to blogs and insights there is something for everyone. – NHS Leadership Academy – Leadership Academy
Useful Contacts
| Name | Role | Email address |
| Karis Ramsay | Clinical Learning & Development Lead for Primary Care | karis.ramsay1@nhs.net |
| Sarah Rogers | GPN Strategic Lead (ICB) Lead Nurse GPCTH | sarah.rogers11@nhs.net |
| Hannah Gannon | Practice Education Facilitator Gloucestershire Primary Care Training Hub | hannah.gannon2@nhs.net |
| Mashel Banks | GPN Preceptorship Lead | mashel.banks@nhs.net |
| Marie Altham | GPN Fellowship Lead | marie.altham@nhs.net |
| Victoria Noonan | Advanced Clinical Practitioner & First Contact Professional Lead | victoria.noonan@nhs.net |
| Heather Brooks | Lead PEF Trainee Nursing Associates | heather.brooks3@nhs.net |
Legacy Mentoring Programme
The NHS in Gloucestershire is currently piloting a legacy mentoring programme.
Legacy mentors are experienced nurses, midwives or allied health professionals, who provide coaching, mentoring and pastoral support to their colleagues who are at the start of their career, a change in their career or at a time when they feel they need additional support..
We can provide essential professional advice, education and guidance and pass on a ‘legacy’ to the next generation. We play a crucial role in supporting staff health, wellbeing and career progression.
Where legacy mentoring exists in other organisations evidence suggests that staff are better supported, have improved happiness and satisfaction at work and have been provided with more opportunities for learning and development. We anticipate that this will lead to improved retention of staff within Gloucestershire and a safer and happier environment for both staff and the people they care for.
We have three legacy mentors covering primary care in Gloucestershire. Emma Kennedy, Katherine Thomas and Lisa Stoddart. Between the three legacy mentors they have experience in all areas of practice nursing, managing teams, career progression and pastoral support. We are able to visit nurses in practice, via teams or away from the work place if preferred. You can self-refer or as a manager you can refer a member of your team.
Here are some testimonials from recent mentees
“Having a legacy mentor has helped to build my confidence, and allowed me to make decisions independently, but always knowing I have support where I feel I need it.”
“Very supportive, with a wealth of knowledge! Tailored support to your needs with a kind, friendly approach!”
“It helped to speak again about the troubles I have at work and identify effective ways of managing this. Having an outside perspective from another practice nurse has helped me to not make any quick fired decisions where I would leave primary care”
To get started, please complete the Enquiry and Referral form to help us understand more about what we can offer you. Once we have received this form your legacy mentor will contact you to discuss the next steps.
Legacy Mentoring – Primary Care – Enquiry and Referral Form
ARR Repository – Advanced Practitioner
To find out more about the Advanced Practitioner Role, please visit the dedicated page on the website’s ARR Repository. To access this page please click here.
Thinking about becoming a Nurse?
For information about routes to qualification from the NMC Click Here >
Additional information about becoming a General Practice Nurse can be found here
Non-Medical / Independent Prescribing
These websites may be useful for more information:
NM Prescribing Click here >
University of the West of England Click here >
Nursing & Midwifery Council – Standards for medicine management Click here >
NMC Professional Conduct https://www.nmc.org.uk/standards/code/
NMC Revalidation http://revalidation.nmc.org.uk/
Advanced Clinical Practitioners
These websites may be useful for more information;
Particularly useful are the competency frameworks for General Practice Advanced Nurses Click Here > to download them.
WT&E Advanced Clinical Practice: Click Here >
General Practice Nursing 10 point plan: Click Here >
A joint framework released by the RCGP and WT&E provides core capabilities clarity for advanced level nurses in primary care/general practice. The framework can be used by practices to assess competencies and develop career pathways where relevant for Advancing Clinical Practice.
Primary Care and General Practice Nursing Career and Core Capabilities Framework
To access the Framework please click here.
Severe Mental Health – Free online training support
Nurse On Tour Programme
The Nurse on Tour Programme is a Population Health initiative which meets Student Nurse placement demand through an innovative approach to healthcare.
Student Nurses are given the opportunity to have a ‘day in the life of a General Practice Nurse’ whilst offering NHS checks to patients under supervision on a health care bus outside their local surgery. The initiative has proved popular with students, giving them an insight into primary care nursing, to patients, offering them preventative health care and to surgeries by supporting their workload.
Nursing Associates
The Nursing Associate role is a new support role that will sit alongside existing healthcare support workers and fully-qualified registered nurses to deliver hands-on care for patients. Following huge interest some 2,000 people are now in training with providers across England.
This document from WT&E explains the role and function of Nurse Associates in General Practice to view Click here >
These websites may be useful for more information:
WT&E developing our workforce – nursing associates: Click Here >
Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) – nursing associates: Click Here >
Royal College of Nursing – become a nursing associate: Click Here >
Meet the Nursing Associates
The below video clearly depicts the role and responsibilities of a Nursing Associate, making it a useful recourse for Practices/PCNs to help explain to Patients what a Nursing Associate is.
Nursing Associate Q&A – Michelle Nicholls
What first attracted you to a career in nursing?
I was first introduced to the idea of becoming an NA when I had a job interview for the role of a receptionist at a GP practice. During my interview, I was told how other members of staff who had worked in the administration team had gone on to train in phlebotomy. This sparked an interest in me to expand my own role once I had taken up a position at the surgery.
After working as a receptionist, I then moved to work in administration, before becoming a prescriptions clerk, where I learnt all about different kinds of medication and their uses. During each step of my journey, I was asking the question ‘why?’; I wanted to know why people had to be referred to certain departments, why they had to have certain blood tests for different diagnoses and how that would help with a particular condition. I was then offered a chance to train in venepuncture and phlebotomy and this then fuelled my passion for wanting to know more, and I ended up becoming a Healthcare Assistant (HCA), completing my Care certificate.
During one of my CPD courses, a lecturer at the university mentioned the Trainee Nurse Associate career. Intrigued, I approached the practice manager and partners back at my base GP surgery and asked if they would be willing to allow me to do the training. I put forward my case of how it would benefit the surgery, staff and patients and the practice agreed to support me.
How did you find the training journey to qualify as a Nursing Associate?
I have been a qualified NA for a year now, with my journey starting back in September 2018 at St. George’s University, London. The first few months felt quite overwhelming, when I was introduced to all the different modules I would have to study. I wasn’t quite sure how I would fit studying in around my work and family life. I have two children, and my husband was working abroad at the time, so I had to learn very quickly how to time manage and juggle my time.
During the apprenticeship my time was split between my base workplace and six placement workplaces. Your base placement is where you are usually employed and where your mentor is located, who ensures you have the support you need within the practice. Each placement had so much to offer in terms of learning and I have been able to take something from every placement and use those skills in my role at the GP surgery. I time spent with a health visiting team, a care home, two hospital wards (one surgical, one medical), a mental health ward, and (as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic) for my last placement I was redeployed to a COVID-19 hot clinic.
Every module I studied had a lead lecturer who was a fantastic support and was able to guide me on the correct path. As I hadn’t studied since I was 18, I struggled to get back into the habit of writing academically; however, my lecturers supported me with this and I qualified with a distinction – my proudest moment.
Was your TNA course funded via the apprenticeship levy?
Yes, the course was funded through the apprenticeship levy and the St. George’s Fund.
What does a typical day look like working as a Nursing Associate?
The NA role bridges the gap between an HCA and a registered nurse. Every day is varied; I can be asked to run clinics for vaccinations or see patients to monitor their long term conditions. Throughout the day I can be faced with cervical screening, wound dressings, baby immunisations, phlebotomy, NHS Health Checks, weight management, and mental health reviews. I also assist with minor operations.
Does the Nursing Associate role fit in well in General Practice?
The role of an NA and the broadness of the qualification suits general practice well as we see patients of all ages – from new-borns to end of life care, and everything that happens in-between. The NA in general practice is able to have a full, holistic view of the patient over a number of years, especially if the patient does not move away from the area.
How does the role of a Nursing Associate differ from a Healthcare Assistant?
Once you are a qualified NA, you can access further training to help the registered nurse with additional procedures outside of the HCA remit. You will also gain a deeper understanding of the systems within the body, studying how they work and what happens when things go wrong.
NAs are able to help people with long term conditions by having that deeper knowledge. The registered nurse is able to pass patients onto the NA to continue their care once a care plan has been created for that patient. The NA can then monitor the patient going forwards.
There is never a ‘typical’ day in the life of an NA in a GP practice!
What is the best part of your job?
Having a better understanding of the conditions my patients have has allowed me to provide them with care and support that is more individual to them. I enjoy caring for my patients and being able to help them to the best of my ability.
I like allowing my patients to feel that they have been listened to and by getting to know our patients well, we can provide a more personalised care experience.
What are you hoping to achieve in the future in your career?
Since qualifying I was asked by the practice to lead on immunisations, weight management and be the veteran’s friendly practice champion, which helps veterans who join the practice to find help for their mental wellbeing. I also mentor the HCAs in the practice.
I have also undertaken the role of Nurse Associate Ambassador for Workforce Transformation and Education and am in the process of setting up a support forum for fellow TNA’s, NA’s, and HCA’s who are interested in the NA role within our local borough.
Going forwards, I would like to qualify as a registered nurse, but if this were to happen I would still want to support and be an advocate for the vital work of the NA within primary care.
What are your ‘top tips’ for someone thinking about becoming a Nursing Associate?
➡️ Be prepared and well organised – take every opportunity to gain new skills and learn from those who want to teach you.
➡️ Enjoy each step of the course – it will show through when you use the skills you have learnt to treat your patients.
➡️ Always ask yourself why – this will help you to learn the skills you are taught and apply them in practice.
Closing thoughts
I thoroughly enjoy my job. I look forward to going to work more than I have ever done because I know that I am helping every patient I see, even if it’s only by a small amount. I am so glad I chose the NA career path.