Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has partnered with The Burdett Trust for Nursing to create a Nursing Innovation Fellow position.

A grant from the Burdett Trust means the Nursing Innovation Fellow can lead on innovative projects at Chelsea and Westminster. The fellow will support CW Innovation, a joint project run by Chelsea and Westminster and its official charity CW+

The new post will work closely with the trust’s senior nursing team and the CW Innovation team, while building a cohort of outstanding clinical innovators and initiatives.

Launched 12 months ago, CW Innovation has formed collaborations with some 70 companies and service organisations, from technology start-ups to international blue-chips.

CW+ chief executive Chris Chaney said: “This generous support and unique partnership will enable a step-change in new initiatives led by nurses, midwives and allied health professionals at our hospitals.

“CW Innovation has made a marked difference to our hospitals in the year since its inception, with many innovations fast-tracked during the Covid-19 pandemic and now routinely in use. Working with a core innovation group, we are proud to have developed and delivered a diverse portfolio of staff-led programmes; this new partnership now enables us to enhance the reach and impact of this approach by creating and accelerating specific nurse-led innovations.”

The fellowship was announced at the CW+ fourth annual Nurses’ Innovation event on 9 September.

The Burdett Trust for Nursing trustee, Dame Christine Beasley, added: “The Nursing Innovation Fellow position tallies with the Burdett Trust for Nursing ethos to empower nurses and nurse-led projects.

“Since 2002 we have specifically targeted our grants at projects that are nurse-led, and that enable nurses to make significant improvements to the patient care environment.

“When we looked at CW Innovation, its philosophy and aims were an excellent match with our own to form this partnership. With nurses, midwives and allied health professionals making up the majority of the healthcare workforce, we were delighted that the Nursing Innovation Fellow will have the opportunity to make a difference by creating and leading innovative projects at a prestigious hospital trust.”

For information on the Nursing Innovation Fellow position, and how to apply, please visit the CW+ website.