Telephone Support Line for Community Nurses receives major boost from CHSA
14 January 2021
The QNI’s TalkToUs telephone listening service has received a major funding boost from a new charity set up to support the Health and Social Care sector, called Covid-19 Healthcare Support Appeal (CHSA).
CHSA has provided a grant of almost £49k to help expand the service, which has been running since May 2020.
TalkToUs was set up by the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) to offer emotional support by phone to registered nurses working in the community, primary and social care. The QNI’s trained listeners are all Queen’s Nurses who are available to speak to nurses about any aspect of their work or personal life, in complete confidence.
We have been very concerned about the mental and emotional toll on the health of nurses since the start of the pandemic. The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) was quick to respond to this, setting up a telephone listening service for all nurses working in the community, primary care and social care. We were fortunate to have considerable expertise within the QNI team in the field of telephone support lines, and the dedication of our Queen’s Nurses to become trained as listeners, offering a confidential ear to any nurse who wants to talk about work or personal life.
Concerns about the mental and emotional health of nurses have only grown as the third wave of the pandemic has worsened in recent weeks. The impacts are likely to be long term, lasting far beyond the duration of the pandemic itself. We are therefore delighted to have received this major funding boost from CHSA, which will help us reach out to more nurses and give them the vital support they need at this time and in the future.
Dr Crystal Oldman CBE, the QNI's Chief ExecutiveWe are very glad to be able to support the TalkToUs Listening Service. Nurses working in the community and social care have taken on a huge extra burden since the start of the pandemic, and we are very pleased to be working with the QNI on this bespoke and much needed initiative.
Susan Dolton, Charity Manager at CHSANotes to Editors
More information about the QNI’s TalktoUs service can be found on the website at www.qni.org.uk/talktous. Anyone wishing to speak to one of the QNI’s trained listeners, who are all Queen’s Nurses, should send an email to talktous@qni.org.uk in the first instance, to arrange a call back at a suitable time. All calls are handled in complete confidence.
The service is aimed in particular at nurses working in community settings and social care. It is not restricted to NHS staff.
CHSA
CHSA (COVID-19 Healthcare Support Appeal) is a time-limited charity set up to support health and care staff across the UK who have been adversely affected by the pandemic. The charity is a subsidiary of the RCN Foundation.
Email: Susan.Dolton@rcn.org.uk
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