RCN Foundation partners with Deliveroo to establish NHS education fund

The RCN Foundation, a charity that provides grants to nursing and midwifery professionals across the UK, today announced that Deliveroo has facilitated a donation of £300,000 to enable NHS staff to pursue further education and training.

The £300,000 donation was raised from customers and partners as part of Deliveroo’s Supporting the NHS campaign – which also delivered one million meals to frontline NHS staff, and facilitated the donation of £500,000 to five NHS trusts across England to support workers at the height of the pandemic in 2020.

The Deliveroo-RCN Foundation NHS Education Fund will support the education and training of 200 nurses, midwives and health care support workers from all corners of the UK, particularly targeting those from low-income backgrounds or in the early stages of their nursing careers.

Funding issued from the Deliveroo-RCN Foundation NHS Education Fund will enable hundreds of healthcare professionals to specialise and develop their existing expertise and improve levels of patient care. There are many areas of care that will benefit such as mental health, midwifery, oncology, critical care and advanced practice.

The fund is open to any individual working in an NHS nursing or midwifery team, and grants awarded will cover the cost of a wide range of educational courses, including postgraduate modules and shorter training courses.

The grants programme will open for applications in March 2022. NHS nurses and midwives early in their careers are particularly encouraged to apply.

Professor Jane Cummings CBE, Chair of the RCN Foundation Board of Trustees, said: 'NHS nursing and midwifery staff have been at the forefront of supporting patients, families and communities through the pandemic for two years.

'We are honoured to be able to support nurses by investing in the profession for the long term with the Deliveroo-RCN Foundation NHS Education Fund. We are grateful to Deliveroo and the many of customers who have given money in support of NHS nursing and midwifery staff.'

Will Shu, CEO and Founder of Deliveroo said: 'NHS staff have played an invaluable role in keeping us and our loved ones safe during the pandemic. As a British business, we want to use Deliveroo's unique network for good and express our enormous gratitude to frontline NHS staff.

'Thanks to the generosity of our customers and partners, we are delighted to be able to support the further training of fantastic NHS nurses and midwives.'