UHCW expertise helps shape world-first handbook for Professional Nurse Advocates

Nursing expertise from University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust has helped shape a pioneering handbook supporting Professional Nurse Advocates (PNAs) across the NHS.

Developed through the Centre for Care Excellence partnership between UHCW and Coventry University, the new resource brings together practical guidance and frontline experience to improve nurse wellbeing, strengthen leadership and support better patient care.

Introduced in 2021 as part of the NHS response to the pandemic, PNAs help nurses manage workplace pressures, improve wellbeing and build resilience.

As demand for PNAs continues to grow, academics have developed The Professional Nurse Advocate's Handbook, bringing together the voices, experiences and expertise of frontline healthcare professionals. The resource combines practical advice and real-world insights.

Each of the handbook's eight chapters was written by a nurse or midwife PNA, ensuring the guidance is firmly grounded in clinical practice.

The handbook was edited by Professor Liz Lees-Deutsch, from the Centre for Care Excellence, a research partnership between Coventry University, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust and Coventry University's Centre for Healthcare and Community Transformation; Professor Rosie Kneafsey, Academic Director at Coventry University's School of Health and Care; and Professor  Emma Wadey, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Nursing Officer at Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust,  who led the national development and implementation of the Professional Nurse Advocate role.

Professor Lees-Deutsch said: "The handbook demonstrates how Professional Nurse Advocates make a tangible difference, not only to individual practitioners but to teams, organisations and ultimately patient care.

"Importantly, this book has been written with the input of PNAs, for PNAs. While Emma, Rosie and I are not PNAs ourselves, we are nurses. We understand many of the challenges that nurses face in practice and we wanted this book to showcase the extraordinary work that PNAs are doing and to tell a positive story about nursing leadership, support and development."

Drawing on the experiences of practising PNAs from across the UK, the handbook combines practical guidance, case studies and reflective tools that can be applied in everyday healthcare settings. Topics include restorative clinical supervision, leadership, professional identity, quality improvement and creating compassionate workplace cultures.

Kirsty Blakemore, Practice Facilitator at UHCW NHS Trust, said: "Seeing the launch of the Professional Nurse Advocate Handbook is incredibly exciting. As the Trust Lead for PNA, I have always been passionate about ensuring PNAs have a voice, have opportunities to share their achievements and have access to practical resources that support them in their role. This handbook brings all of that together in one place.

“What makes it even more special is that it demonstrates how privileged we are to have our fantastic partnership between UHCW and Coventry University through the Centre for Care Excellence. This is an example of how bringing research and real-practice closer together has made way for a one-of-its’ kind resource, which will support and inspire our PNAs now and in the future."

Professor Kneafsey believes PNAs play a vital role in driving positive change across the NHS by ensuring nurses feel heard, supported and valued.

She said: "When nurses are listened to, supported and given space to reflect, meaningful change follows in wellbeing, leadership, retention and the quality and safety of care. Professional Nurse Advocates are central to this change and this handbook captures both the skill and the compassion at the heart of their work."

The publication has already attracted significant interest from across the healthcare sector, with universities delivering PNA programmes ordering copies for students and NHS hospital libraries adding the handbook to their collections.

Click here to discover more about the book