QNI Launches New Annual Award for Executive Community Nurse Leaders
14 February 2023
The new award, the William Rathbone X Award, honours the contribution of the QNI Council member who was a direct descendant of the founder of District Nursing.
William Rathbone X (the tenth) served as a Council member of the Queen’s Nursing Institute from 1974 until his death in 2022. His lifelong commitment to nursing, and to the charity founded by William Rathbone VI and Florence Nightingale, is celebrated by this new award.
The full name of the Award is the William Rathbone X Annual Award for Excellence in the Executive Nurse Leadership of Community Nursing Services and it has a monetary value of £500.
The Award serves to recognise excellence in the strategic leadership of nursing care in the community. Coordinating and supporting the work of large teams within the community setting is imperative for positive health outcomes for people in need. The Award will raise the profile of executive nurse leaders and their vital role within healthcare provider organisations.
I am delighted that working with William Rathbone’s family we have been able to create a fitting memorial to his life and many years of service to the QNI and community nursing. The impact of this award will I hope be felt for many years to come.
Dr Crystal Oldman CBE, QNI Chief ExecutiveNominations Invited by 13th March 2023
Chief Executives of provider organisations are invited to nominate their Chief Nurse/Director of Nursing for the Award using an online form. Nominators are asked to keep their nomination confidential. The deadline for nominations is 13th March 2023.
Nomination criteria include:
- Evidence of the nominee’s contribution to the national agenda for community nursing or the wider care at home sector
- Achievements of the nominee in the delivery of excellent nursing services in the organisation
- Evidence of these achievements, such as CQC (or equivalent) ratings and annual staff survey outcomes.
Nurses working for not-for-profit providers of NHS funded community health services including local government, integrated community and Mental Health trusts, and integrated hospital and community trusts in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are eligible for nomination. Nurses in commissioning organisations, integrated care boards, central government bodies, or single unit healthcare providers such as individual nursing homes or hospices, are not eligible for this award.
The award will be presented at the William Rathbone X annual lecture each year, which will be held on or as close as possible to International Nurses Day, 12th May.
William Rathbone X
William Rathbone X – the X denoting that he was the tenth member of his family to bear the name – was born in Liverpool in May 1936. As a great-great-grandson of the founder of District Nursing and of the QNI, William Rathbone VI, he continued a long family tradition of philanthropy and public service. He personified the direct link between the QNI founded by his ancestor and Florence Nightingale, and the modern nursing of the 21st century.
Mr Rathbone was a member of the Council of the Queen’s Nursing Institute from 1974 until his death on 31st December 2022 and was Vice-Chair of Council for 24 years of that time. In 2009 he was awarded the Gold Badge of the Queen’s Nursing Institute, its highest award, and in 2012 he was made an OBE for his charitable services. During his career he was also chief executive of the charity RUKBA, and closely involved as a trustee or advisor of nine charities.
Notes to Editors
The QNI would like to thank Lucy and Nick Addyman, Mr Rathbone’s daughter and son-in-law (also a QNI Trustee), whose generous donation will enable the award to be offered in perpetuity.
Further information is on the QNI website: https://qni.org.uk/explore-qni/qni-awards/william-rathbone-x-award-for-executive-nurse-leadership/
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