RCN Foundation launches wellbeing grant in memory of nurse Amin Abdullah

The RCN Foundation is launching a new fund which focuses on nurse wellbeing. The fund is in memory of nurse Amin Abdullah.

Amin took his own life in 2016, following his unfair dismissal from his job as a nurse at Charing Cross Hospital, after coming to the support of a colleague who had been treated harshly by a patient.

The Amin Abdullah RCN Foundation Grant has been made possible by generous donations from staff wellbeing campaigner Dr Narinder Kapur, Amin Abdullah's partner Terry Skitmore, and Dr Nathan Illman, clinical psychologist and founder of the Nurse Wellbeing Mission. The award scheme is supported by the British Indian Nurses Association.

The £15,000 grant programme will make annual awards of up to £1,000 over 15 years, with plans to grow in the event of additional donations to the fund.

The award will provide financial support to nurse-led projects that focus on nurses' wellbeing, such as the strategies registered nurses use to compassionately support each other to maintain high standards of patient safety despite the challenges they may face to achieve this.

Applications are open to registered nurses from across the UK and applicants do not have to be a member of the RCN to apply. 

Find out more and apply for the Amin Abdullah RCN Foundation Grant.

Funding wellbeing, compassionate support and patient safety

Deepa Korea, Director of the RCN Foundation said: “The mental health and wellbeing of nurses across health and social care in the UK is a key priority for the RCN Foundation. We are delighted to be able to be working with the friends and family of Amin to establish this important grant.

“We look forward to identifying nurse-led projects focused on nurse wellbeing and compassionate support to maintain high standards of patient safety within clinical nursing practice. We feel very privileged to be able to help honour Amin’s memory in this way.”

Dr Narinder Kapur says: “This initiative will recognise the fantastic efforts made by nurses to improve the wellbeing of their colleagues, at what is a particularly trying time for the profession in the midst of an NHS staffing crisis.

“Throughout the pandemic, the public caught a glimpse of the pressures facing health and social care staff and the mental toll this caused – but this is sadly the daily reality for so many, and this must change. Staff wellbeing must be supported, or else more in these professions who feel unsupported will leave, which will then have a major impact on patient care.

“We hope this award scheme will go some way to ensuring all nurses feel listened to and supported.”

Dr Kapur is a long-time campaigner and activist for supporting NHS whistleblowers' wellbeing, making headlines in 2012 with his five-day hunger strike outside the Department of Health and with his A Better NHS campaign.

As a recipient of the British Psychological Society's Lifetime Achievement Award, Dr Kapur worked with Terry Skitmore to help commission the Verita Independent Inquiry report into Amin Abdullah's death.

This grant is also proudly supported by the British Indian Nurses' Association. Marimouttou Coumarassamy, the BINA Founder and Chair said "We look forward to collaborating with RCN Foundation for this nurse wellness scheme. We are confident that this scheme will make a positive difference in the health and wellbeing of nursing workforce."