Nottingham Children’s Hospital achieves Pathway to Excellence accreditation
Nottingham Children’s Hospital (NCH) has become the first children's hospital in Europe to achieve the Pathway to Excellence ® accreditation from the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center (ANCC).
The accreditation means that NCH is internationally recognised as an excellent place for nurses to work, with high job satisfaction, professional opportunity and retention, which enables them to deliver outstanding patient care.
The Pathway to Excellence® programme is recognised globally as enabling nursing excellence, instilling a strong sense of professional pride and offers proven strategies to help ensure that the care that we deliver to our patients, is of the highest standards.
Nottingham Children's Hospital has achieved the accreditation during an historic year. It is the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, 200 years since Florence Nightingale was born and also the year when the coronavirus hit.
The teams completed the accreditation in a record time of 9 months.
Professor Kerry Jones, Magnet and Pathway to Excellence Director, said: “At NUH we have been working towards our vision to deliver excellence in clinical outcomes, patient experience and staff experience for nearly a decade.
“While we still continue on this journey, is was a natural next step for us to seek external validation and recognition for our teams and their achievements.
"Achieving international recognition in record time reflects their hard work and commitment to delivering care excellence and we are so incredibly proud of them all.”
To achieve this prestigious award, hospitals must show and provide evidence of excellence in six standards, which are considered essential to an ideal nursing practice and patient care environment.
They are:
- Shared decision making
- Leadership
- Safety
- Quality
- Wellbeing
- Professional development
Following a successful Pathway Standards evidence review, the organisation’s nurses complete an independent, and confidential Pathway Survey to validate that the Pathway Standards have been embedded.
Pathway designation can only be achieved if an organisation meets the survey thresholds.
To be successful in the accreditation, the organisation has to achieve a 60% response rate to the survey and 50% of nurses must respond strongly agree or agree on all 28 survey questions - with 75% of nurses responding strongly agree or agree on at least 21 out of the 28 survey questions.
The hospital achieved an incredible 94% response rate.
Professor Mandie Sunderland, Chief Nurse at Nottingham University Hospitals, said: “I am incredibly proud of this achievement and it is particularly special for us as 2020 is the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife and 200 years since the birth of Florence Nightingale.
“How wonderful that in this anniversary year, this accreditation demonstrates that nursing in the UK continues to deliver excellence here at NCH.
"I am so very proud of them all and commend them for their hard work and professionalism.”
Lesley Reilly, Divisional Nurse at Nottingham Children’s Hospital, said: “I am immensely proud that we have achieved this international accreditation for nursing excellence.
"It is a fantastic achievement and recognises the exemplary work our nurses do every day. What could we wish for more as nurses than knowing the care we provide to our patients and their families is of a proven internationally recognised standard – it doesn’t get much better than that."
The Pathway to Excellence accreditation has been funded by Nottingham Hospitals Charity.
Barbara Cathcart, Nottingham Hospitals Charity’s Chief Executive, said: “Supporting our NHS teams to deliver care excellence has been a key focus of our charity since we were established in 2006.
"We are delighted to have funded Nottingham Children’s Hospital successful accreditation and know that alongside our dedicated NHS staff, children and their families will benefit hugely from the work done to achieve this. Congratulations!"