THE Dudley Group of hospitals and its partners have secured funding to pilot the role of nursing associates to work with registered nurses and clinical support workers.

The new nursing associate role aims to open up a career in nursing to people from all backgrounds - and the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and partners in the Black Country Alliance have now secured funds for a pilot training scheme which will see staff learning on the job through an apprenticeship leading to a foundation degree.

A two-year training course, which is set to start in January 2017 in partnership with the University of Wolverhampton, will offer nursing associates the chance to offer hands on help to Dudley hospital patients and enable them to play a key role in delivering patient care.

Dawn Wardell, chief nurse for the Trust, said: “This is fabulous news not only for the Trust but also to those wishing to find a route into nursing.

“Our dedicated and hard-working nurses will really appreciate the extra support the nursing associate role will bring.”

The successful bid to pilot the scheme was put together by The Dudley Group, Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust (the lead pilot site), Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust and Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

The new nursing associate role has been introduced to help bridge the gap between healthcare support workers, who have a care certificate, and registered nurses.

It will also offer the opportunity to progress to training to become a registered nurse.