The Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland

Who we are

We are a charitable organisation promoting excellence in community nursing to improve the health and well-being of the people of Scotland.

Our purpose is to enable nurses who work in Scotland’s communities to be the very best they can be.

We have recently unveiled our Forward Plan which dictates how we meet this purpose:  We are about connecting people who share a passion for high quality nursing, equipping nurses with the education, skills and confidence they need to help people achieve better health and wellbeing and championing nurses’ roles as advocates for quality health and care.

How we do it

We provide programmes of funding, seeking projects on a particular aspect of health and social care.  In 2015 we focussed on the joint challenges of health inequalities and improving inter-agency integration.  Our ‘Catalysts for Change’ programme led to the funding of six projects seeking to address inequalities in deprived and overlooked communities.

As a respected leader in community nursing, we use our voice to help shape and promote central policy direction.

Looking to the future, we are developing our website into a Community Nursing Observatory, allowing nurses to access research and evidence to improve their practice.  We are also reintroducing the Queen’s Nurse title, to highlight and develop exemplar nurses.

Our other activities

When established in 1889, our primary purpose was the training of Queen’s Nurses; nurses providing healthcare in a local setting.  While we no longer train nurses, there are around 400 retired Queen’s Nurses for whom we provide fellowship and companionship.

We also aim to provide recognition for the hard work of the contemporary community nursing workforce.  Throughout 2015, we awarded almost 200 Long Service Awards to individuals who have devoted over 21 years of service to nursing in the community.