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A nurse has become the first to be appointed to a new academic role created to support the development of nursing in social care settings, which those behind the move have called a “milestone” for the sector.
The University of Salford and the RCN Foundation have jointly announced that Dr Claire Pryor will become the inaugural RCN Foundation chair in adult social care nursing.
“There is an absolute need to ensure our nurses working in social care settings are recognised, supported, and developed”
Claire Pryor
The university said the new role had been created to take a “strategic lead in shaping research and education in adult social care nursing at a local, national and international level”.
Dr Pryor will “translate research into professional practice” to improve nursing care and develop the evidence-base to support the “current and next generation of nurses” in adult social care, it added.
She will be based at Salford’s nursing and midwifery directorate in the School of Health and Society, which is the largest specialist provider of nursing and midwifery education in the North West region.
The university noted that it was a UK focused role and Dr Pryor would work closely with England’s chief nurse for adult social care, Professor Deborah Sturdy.
Dr Pryor’s appointment represents the latest in a series of developments in recent weeks that aim to support social care nursing and raise its profile in the profession.
Earlier this month, Northumbria University launched the UK’s first new specialist practice qualification in community adult social care nursing.
In addition, guidelines were launched to encourage and support the development nationally of placements for student nurses and nursing associates in social care settings.
The government arms’-length body Skills for Care published the guidance in collaboration with Professor Sturdy and the Department of Health and Social Care.
Meanwhile, a nurse from a Bristol-based charity carried the ceremonial lamp at the annual Florence Nightingale Commemorative Service, the first to do so from the adult social care sector.
Emily Pimm, who qualified as a nurse in 2006, works as a social care deputy manager at John Wills House Care Home in Westbury-on-Trym, which is run by the St Monica Trust.
“This appointment marks a significant milestone for the nursing profession and the wider social care sector”
Deepa Korea
The appointment also follows the government earlier this year embarking on a campaign to boost the domestic pipeline into adult social care nursing.
The DHSC unveiled a package of measures, backed by £75m funding, to recruit new talent to the sector, including investment in adult social care nursing apprenticeships.
Separately, higher education institutions were encouraged to expand placement opportunities in social care to encourage more nurses into such settings.
Dr Pryor will start her new role on 31 July. She is currently assistant professor of adult nursing at Northumbria, where she specialises in frailty, social care nursing and non-medical prescribing.
She began her career as a nursing assistant in care homes prior to becoming a staff nurse in medical assessment and critical care, and then a nurse practitioner for older people in mental health settings.
Commenting on her appointment, Dr Pryor said: “I am excited and passionate about the new role, and the significant impact the focus on adult social care will bring.
“There is an absolute need to ensure our nurses working in social care settings are recognised, supported, and developed throughout their careers,” she said.
“We need to work toward recognition of social care nurses as a highly skilled, autonomous clinicians, and empower them to use specialist and advanced skills, leading and shaping high quality care across the sector.”
Professor Margaret Rowe, dean of the school of health at Salford, said: “The chair role will drive changes to adult social care across the UK in terms of education, professional practice and research.
“We look forward to the benefits her role will no doubt bring to our students as we continue to develop and educate the next generation of nurses in adult social care,” she said.
The RCN Foundation said it chose the University of Salford to host the role following a competitive process.
Dr Claire Pryor
Deepa Korea, RCN Foundation director, said “We are delighted that the inaugural RCN Foundation chair in adult social care nursing has been appointed at the University of Salford.
“This appointment marks a significant milestone for the nursing profession and the wider social care sector,” she said.
“Having a dedicated chair will not only further advance the academic and practical knowledge in adult social care nursing that it so vitally needed, but also ensure that the important work of this part of the nursing workforce is highlighted.
“The role will also develop further the clinical expertise and leadership needed across the sector to meet the complex needs of those accessing social care,” she added.
The RCN Foundation, chaired by former chief nursing officer for England Professor Jane Cummings, is an independent charity whose purpose is to support and strengthen nursing and midwifery.
It does this by providing grants to nurses and midwives facing hardship or who want to enhance their skills and develop their practice, and by funding nursing and midwifery-led projects.
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