International Nurses Day (IND) will be championing ‘the economic power of care’ on Sunday 12 May – a vital theme for an impactful modern NHS Scotland, says InnoScot Health

International Nurses Day is celebrated annually on the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth and is led by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) which represents over 28 million nurses worldwide.

This year, amid ongoing renewal and transformation in healthcare, the day’s theme of ‘Our Nurses. Our Future. The economic power of care’ is considered more important than ever with ICN president, Dr Pamela Cipriano believing it will help to highlight the need for nursing to be seen as an investment in a healthier future.

She insists there is a need to “reshape perceptions and demonstrate how strategic investment in nursing can bring considerable economic and societal benefits”.

Formal NHS Scotland partner InnoScot Health agrees that while nurses face what Dr Cipriano calls “financial constraints”, it considers them also best placed to spot the specific areas where more can be done with less – to help the health service innovate for more joined up, progressive working.

West of Scotland Innovation Manager Frances Ramsay benefits InnoScot Health with her own nursing experience. She started her nurse training in 1988 and has experience within both NHS Scotland and England. Frances then became a clinical nurse specialist working in an education capacity, both advising on, and helping working within the medical industry field.

She said: “A great deal of my knowledge today, and how I interact with NHS innovators, has been shaped by those earlier nursing experiences. I understand just how driven they are to care for patients to the very best of their abilities, but also their desire to make things better.

“Nurses are key facilitators of much-needed innovation at this vital time and #IND2024 celebrates their contribution. They truly understand what patients need most to ensure better outcomes while being able to offer crucial insights into how to make processes more efficient.

“Fundamentally, IND’s message of the ‘economic power of care’ is a vital theme for an impactful modern NHS Scotland. It means maximising resource and supporting the workforce to do more with less.

“If they do spot any opportunities to innovate, whether the ideas are big or small, then I’d be delighted to hear from them.

“Anyone can be a healthcare innovator, by improving patient care, enhancing working practices, and generating a financial return. InnoScot Health has the knowledge and expertise to help them take their ideas to the next level.”

The Patient Transfer Scale – an idea of Gillian Taylor, an Emergency Department Nurse at NHS Lanarkshire – is designed to address the needs of patients admitted to hospital who are either too sick to stand on scales or are immobile.

Obtaining an accurate patient weight is critical for medication dosage, and the scale combines a standard patient transfer board with a class III approved weighing scale, enabling medication to be administered quickly for conditions like stroke and sepsis.

The product, developed with InnoScot Health and manufactured by Marsden, means that weight readings never need to be estimated again – so better patient care and patient outcomes.

Gillian said: “Quickly and accurately measuring an immobile patient’s weight can be a significant challenge, and existing methods – from cumbersome patient hoist to time-consuming bed scale – present multiple problems.

“The Patient Transfer Scale (PTS) immediately overcomes those issues in time-critical emergency situations by making transfers from trolley to bed faster and easier, the measurement of weight more efficient, and with both patient and staff safety improved.

“I am proud to say that capturing accurate patient weight quickly with PTS helps save lives.”

Odette Brooks, a Critical Care Infection Surveillance Nurse at NHS Lothian invented The Infection Management Game which offers a unique approach to staff training about the effective management of patients with suspected or known infections.

Developed alongside InnoScot Health and manufactured by Focus Games, it encourages groups of staff to work with relevant policy documents and improves their knowledge and confidence when managing patients and risk. In just 20-40 minutes, players will explore a broad range of procedures and best practice to ensure they deliver effective infection management within their area.

Innovative ideas to any health challenge can be easily submitted through InnoScot Health’s online portal and an online consultation can also be booked with its expert team.