Epic cycle ride for QNI listening service

A key figure at a charity dedicated to improving the nursing care of people in the home and in the community will take part in a 100-mile sponsored cycle.

Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) chief operating officer Nicholas Bull is preparing to take on the off-road challenge during the Dorset Dirt Dash 100 on May 28 to raise money for the charity’s TalkToUs service which offers emotional support to registered nurses working in the community.

Speaking about the fundraiser on the charity’s website, Nicholas said he was partially taking on the fundraiser as a personal challenge following a knee operation last year but also because he sees community nurses as unsung heroes.

He said: “Community nurses operate in many roles, including District Nurses visiting patients in their homes, nurses working in GP surgeries and nurses working in care homes.

“They often work in unstructured or non-clinical environments, acting as the primary medical practitioner.

“They are the unsung heroes that keep the wheels of the community and primary healthcare system working, especially since the pressures on the system during Covid and beyond.

“The work that QNI undertakes includes various programmes and projects that offer a mixture of support, grants, courses, policy influencing, standards setting and network building.

“The money I raise will directly support the QNI’s TalkToUs listening service which offers emotional support by phone to registered nurses working in the community.  

“It is operated by trained listeners who are available to speak to any nurse working in the community, residential or social care, primary care or any other setting or specialism in the community.”

Anyone who wants to support Nicholas can donate online at https://www.justgiving.com/page/nicholas-bull-1679937872426 

To find out more about TalkToUs click here