Nicky Morrison is the director of nursing at Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic and District Hospital Trust and is leading the pilot. She told Nursing Times: “Unless we convince frontline nurses that we can support them in a better way, and that we can address the issues of staffing and morale, then nurses themselves may actually shoot the recruitment drive or national campaign in the foot.”

Nicky Morrison also said that senior nurses should show “strong leadership” by making nurses aware of the range of opportunities open to them, and where they can access support and raise concerns. They should highlight the levels of education and training completed by nurses to boost their profile with the public.

Janet Shepherd, deputy chief nurse and Project lead for NHS London, said: “The public view is that nurses earn between £11,000 and £15,000 a year and they don’t need to have qualifications because they are born with the ability to nurse. We need to give the public a better understanding of what nursing really is.”