Nurses urged to apply for grant that supports wellbeing projects

Running for its second year, the Amin Abdullah RCN Foundation Grant is a scheme that makes annual awards to nurse-led projects of up to £1,000 over 15 years.

The grant was set up in 2022 in memory of Amin Abdullah, who died by suicide in 2016 just days before he was due to attend a hearing to appeal his dismissal from Charing Cross Hospital.

An investigation later found that he had been treated unfairly by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, and that charges held against him were unjustified.

Mr Abdullah’s partner, Terry Skitmore, told Nursing Times that the investigation had highlighted “the lack of support for nurses wellbeing” in the NHS.

He argued that the health service had not recognised that having “overworked, bullied and unhappy nurses” in the workplace would have a direct impact on patient care.

As a result, the RCN Foundation launched the grant to encourage UK nurses to come up with projects that will improve the wellbeing of nurses.

Mr Skitmore said: “Thousands of nurses working in this profession every day must know from experience what can be done to achieve this change.

“So please come forward, apply for the grant with your great ideas, improve the working lives of your colleagues and friends and, of course, your own and help reduce the sadness of the loss of loved ones due to suicide.”

In 2022, the £1,000 grant was awarded to two different projects.

The first project, undertaken by Canterbury Christ University, was a study that looked at the effect of a programme for nursing students which was targeting self-efficacy, procrastination and wellbeing in student nurses.

The second was a project led by Keele University, to explore the current issues that can impact upon the mental and physical well-being of nurses working in clinical practice.

The RCN Foundation’s director, Peepa Korea, said: “The mental health and wellbeing of nursing and midwifery staff across health and social care in the UK is a key priority for the RCN Foundation.

“We are delighted to be working with the friends and family of Amin for a second year to offer this important grant.”

Ms Korea said the charity was looking forward to another year of nurse-led projects “focused on promoting nurse wellbeing and compassionate support”.

She added: “Evidence shows that supporting the health and wellbeing of nursing staff has a direct impact on patient care, and so it is vital that we deliver initiatives such as this one.

“We feel privileged to be able to help honour Amin’s memory in this way by creating positive outcomes for nursing staff,” she added.