Evaluation of Roald Dahl Specialist Nurses

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    A project to evaluate the impact of Roald Dahl Specialist Nurses

  • IRAS ID

    255882

  • Contact name

    Julie Nightingale

  • Contact email

    J.Nightingale@shu.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Sheffield Hallam University

  • Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

    ER10500163, Converis ethics

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    2 years, 0 months, 2 days

  • Research summary

    The Roald Dahl specialist nurse role was created to improve the care of children and young adults with serious chronic lifelong conditions such as blood disorders and chronic epilepsy. The posts are funded for a 2 year period by the Roald Dahl Marvellous Children's Charity (RDMCC) and thereafter the employing NHS Trust commits to fund the posts for a further 3 year period. There are now 70 Roald Dahl specialist nurses working in both hospital and community settings.
    This project will explore the impact of the specialist nursing services for seriously ill children for 20 nursing posts that have been appointed jointly by the RDMCC charity and the NHS from 2016 to date. The study will evaluate the impact of the role upon:
    • The nurses themselves
    • The employing Trust
    • The team that the nurses work with
    • Most importantly, the children, young people and their families
    The project will provide the Charity and the participating NHS Trusts with a picture of the costs and benefits of the role. It will include talking to the children, young people, their families and carers about the Roald Dahl nurses and interviews with the Roald Dahl nurses and their managers.
    The Trust visits will be scheduled up to 18 months after the initial appointment, and just before the two year funding from the Charity comes to an end. At the conclusion we are planning a conference in partnership with the Charity and key stakeholders to discuss the findings from the study.

  • REC name

    North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    18/NE/0383

  • Date of REC Opinion

    20 Dec 2018

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion