First care home provider to gain top status for preceptorship scheme

It has attained the National Preceptorship Interim Quality Mark Award for meeting the ‘gold standard’ criteria for its nursing preceptorship programme, six months after it was launched.

“This is an excellent achievement, particularly as you are the first social care organisation to achieve the award”

Desiree Cox

The interim quality mark (IQM) was introduced as part of the national nursing preceptorship framework in England. Last month marked two years since the launch of the framework.

The framework has set new standards for health and social care organisations to adhere to in relation to the support they provide their newly registered nurses.

To date, around 200 organisations have achieved the IQM, having gone above and beyond for their newly registered nurses and met the “gold standards” of preceptorship described in the framework.

Those overseeing the framework said HC-One showed a strong effort to create a “competent, confident, and committed” nursing workforce that can learn, reflect, and develop.

HC-One launched its Nursing Preceptorship Programme in September 2023 to both support newly registered nurses and to boost recruitment and retention of staff during sector-wide shortages.

It was designed by HC-One’s senior nursing team, in line with the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s principles of preceptorship, England’s preceptorship framework and Scotland’s Flying Start programme.

Six months after the programme was launched, the firm said it has developed around 120 preceptors and supported around 60 preceptees, and that it would continue to roll out its scheme.

The preceptors included experienced nurses working in care homes and regional teams, who have enjoyed the chance to work closely with and guide preceptees in their career journey, it said.

HC-One said it expected most newly qualified and newly registered nurses and nursing associates to complete their preceptorship within six to 12 months, in line with most other similar schemes.

However, it added that the programme took an individualised approach to support each preceptee and, as a result, there was no set timeline for completion.

HC-One stated its preceptees worked through an individual learning plan with their preceptor to develop skills, confidence, and their practice.

Before becoming a nurse in charge of a shift, preceptees worked with their preceptor to sign off on clinical and leadership competencies, it said.

Following their preceptorship, nurses continued to be supported by its learning and development team, noted the firm.

It highlighted that it had a “robust support network of experienced nurses”, including an on-call system where more senior staff were available 24/7 to offer advice or support to new nurses on shift.

According to the provider, the programme has helped HC-One “open new talent pools, grow their own nurses, and improve recruitment and retention in their nursing community”.

Sharon Burlace, head of nursing at HC-One, said: “We’re extremely proud to be the first care home provider to be awarded the National Preceptorship Interim Quality Mark.

“This is testament to the commitment for excellent preceptorship from our nurses, regional and operations teams, who have supported and encouraged the development and progress of our preceptorship programme from the start, just six months ago.

“Preceptorship has been described in recent nursing press as more important than ever to ensure a variety of nurses at all levels are supported and encouraged to develop their confidence and competence,” she said.

She added: “We’ve already supported 120 Nurses in the organisation through our workshop to become preceptors.”

Desiree Cox, national preceptorship programme lead at NHS England, congratulated HC-One on achieving the IQM for nursing preceptorship.

“This is an excellent achievement, particularly as you are the first social care organisation to achieve the award and demonstrates a clear commitment in caring for our newly registered nurses,” she said.

Nursing Times, in partnership with the union Unison and charity the Florence Nightingale Foundation, have been campaigning for improved preceptorship, amid concerns that too many newly registered nurses were being thrown in at the deep end and left to sink or swim.

Encouragingly, a recent survey that we conducted as part of this ongoing campaign suggested that access to, and quality of, preceptorship has improved over the last two years. However, further work is needed to make sure every new nurse has a good start to their career.

HC-One is the UK’s largest care home operator, with more than 275 care homes across England, Scotland and Wales specialising in dementia, nursing and residential care for older people.

It was formed in 2011 following the collapse of the UK’s then-largest care home operator, Southern Cross Healthcare.