Spire Healthcare achieves Royal College of Nursing accreditation for its Driving Clinical Excellence programme

• Programme designed to drive high-quality patient care through evidence-based practice and compassionate leadership
• Professional development is open to nurses, allied health and pharmacy professionals

Spire Healthcare has been awarded accreditation by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) for its Driving Clinical Excellence (DCE) programme, recognising the organisation’s commitment to delivering high-quality patient care through evidence-based practice and compassionate leadership.

The accreditation affirms that Spire’s flagship development programme meets the RCN’s rigorous standards for professional education, reflecting contemporary policy, research, safety guidance and the RCN’s principles.

Developed by Spire Healthcare’s clinical leadership team in collaboration with nursing and other clinical colleagues, the DCE programme supports registered nurses, allied health and pharmacy professionals to strengthen their clinical judgement, leadership capability and contribution to quality improvement.

Lisa Grant, Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Spire Healthcare, said:

“We are incredibly proud to receive Royal College of Nursing accreditation for our Driving Clinical Excellence programme. This achievement underlines our commitment to delivering high-quality, safe, compassionate and person-centred care through professional development.

“DCE is designed to empower our colleagues with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to deliver outstanding care for every patient, every time, and to lead improvement and influence positive change.

“Spire is deeply committed to investing in the growth of nurses and clinical colleagues and to providing an environment where they can thrive. It is a real privilege to lead this programme and to present colleagues with their certificates and pin badges to mark their graduation.”

Supporting our colleagues to deliver safe, compassionate and evidence-based care

The Driving Clinical Excellence programme has been designed to enhance clinical competence while fostering a culture of professional growth. The curriculum supports core clinical priorities including:

• Compassionate leadership
  Exploring communication, reflective practice, human factors, coaching, effective feedback and Spire’s organisational values
• Quality improvement methodologies
  Training in QI frameworks to help colleagues evaluate clinical environments, design improvements and enhance patient experience and safety
• Key clinical topics
  Including recognition and management of the deteriorating patient, sepsis, neurological assessment, prevention of surgical site infection, VTE prevention and evidence based clinical decision making
• Digital competence
  Supporting colleagues to develop digital literacy and use clinical digital platforms aligned with Spire’s five-year digital transformation programme

The hybrid programme includes a virtual study day, self-directed portfolio activities, reflective writing, research-based reading, a QI foundation programme and structured assessments completed with peer and line manager involvement. Participants undertake 25 hours of accredited learning in total.

Designed to strengthen workforce capability

Spire developed the programme in line with its purpose, to make a positive difference to people’s lives through outstanding personalised care, and to support colleagues in meeting national safety, effectiveness and leadership expectations, including Care Quality Commission standards.

Participants receive feedback at key stages, including a 6-week virtual review, and the programme is continually refined through multicohort evaluation, patient safety priorities and annual workforce development planning.

The RCN accreditation reinforces Spire Healthcare’s long-term commitment to creating a supportive, inclusive and clinically excellent environment for colleagues at every stage of their career. The programme will run multiple times throughout the year and is open to Registered Nurses and relevant allied health and pharmacy colleagues across the organisation.