London hospital achieves prestigious global nursing standard
A hospital in London has become the latest healthcare provider in the UK to meet the standards of a prestigious international scheme for nursing and midwifery excellence.
Charing Cross Hospital, part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, was been awarded Pathway to Excellence designation, which aims to create a positive working environment for nursing staff.
“Our nurses have gone above and beyond”
Janice Sigsworth
Set up by the American Nurses Credentialing Centre (ANCC), the programme requires organisations to meet six “essential nursing standards” to achieve its designation.
These standards are shared decision-making, leadership, quality, safety, wellbeing and professional development.
The London hospital, which employs more than 1,000 registered nurses, had to pass a final accreditation nurse survey and a 12-month assessment to receive the designation.
Meeting the standards, the trust said, involved introducing shared-decision councils, which allowed staff to have more say in the way their workplace was run.
As well as this, the trust improved staff wellbeing by building “a culture of recognition and professional development”.
Imperial College chief nurse Dame Janice Sigsworth said she was proud of the work staff at the hospital have done to reach the standards.
“Throughout our Pathway to Excellence journey, I have observed the hard work and passion that has gone in to creating a really positive practice environment,” said Dame Janice.
“From participating in shared decision councils to demonstrating great leadership and a steadfast commitment to quality and safety, our nurses have gone above and beyond.”
Several other hospitals and trusts around the country have attained the award through similar improvements to the quality of their workplace, and improvements to nursing and midwifery.
Janice Sigsworth
Northampton General Hospital became the first in the UK to join the scheme in 2016.
Then, in 2019, chief nursing officer for England Dame Ruth May announced an effort to get 14 trusts working towards reaching the Pathway to Excellence.
In 2022, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust achieved the designation, followed by University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.
Last year, Moorfields Eye Hospital was also awarded the accreditation, alongside several others.
Charing Cross is now the largest hospital site in the UK, and first in the capital, to join Pathway to Excellence.
Imperial College Healthcare’s leadership said it would now seek to bring its other hospitals up to standards, in order to achieve the same.
Tim Orchard, Imperial’s chief executive, said: “This recognition is testament to the extraordinary dedication, skill and compassion of our nursing staff.
“This milestone not only highlights the great work that has been happening at Charing Cross to allow our nurses to excel, it sets out a roadmap for sharing learning and improvement across our trust.
“Congratulations to everyone involved in this outstanding accomplishment,” he added.
The ANCC is a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association. As well as Pathway to Excellence, it also runs the prestigious Magnet Recognition Program, which rates providers for their nursing excellence.
