Promoting health equity with colleagues in Q

As a nursing leader in health care improvement and policy, Clare’s mission has always been for community nursing to help address some of the inequalities experienced by those who are least affluent. She believes understanding the challenges and barriers, and where improvements need to be made, are key to success, alongside an ability to share experiences and learn from others. It is that learning and sharing that first brought her to Q in 2016 when it was launched by the Health Foundation as a networking community for those working in improvement to meet and collaborate.

Clare instantly saw Q as a great opportunity to connect with others involved in improvement and to ultimately help enhance the lives of those living in poverty.

Scotland is fairly small, and we already had a network of people involved in improvement, but I think Q, and specifically it’s network weaving events, really helped us to develop those relationships and networking further. It extended our reach.

In 2020, we found it enormously beneficial during the pandemic because the Q community was very agile in moving online and it enabled us to still connect, so we could continue to learn from each other and adapt to the changing situations very quickly. Having those connections there at that time was crucial.

Yes, you have to invest time in Q, but you can save a huge amount of time in the long-term by learning from others,” said Clare. ​“It can prevent you from making mistakes.

Q is one of those things where you get out of it what you put in. If you can commit the time, you will get out many more times over what you put in. One of the greatest aspects of Q is the inclusive culture. Every voice is valued, and titles and hierarchy have no place.

Q has been of huge benefit to me and The Queens Nursing Institute Scotland in helping us to network further, learn and develop ways in which we can help our communities.

I think Q members, like us, are working more and more with communities to address some of the social determinants of health, which is really encouraging. I think together we can really make a difference and bring about change.