Why I became a Trustee of FoNS
By Venetia Wynter-Blyth
I’ve often wondered what it is that makes some ideas spread while others stay rooted with a single person, ward or team.
The 10-Year Health Plan highlights the ability to adopt and scale innovation as vital to the future of the health service. Few would disagree. Yet, here’s the issue: nurses, the very people who hold the system together, are, statistically, the least likely to access innovation development opportunities.
Data from the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme shows that across seven years of the programme, nurses have made up no more than 6.6% of the cohort.
But what fascinates me is that nurses are the most natural innovators around. Constantly creating workarounds, practical solutions and advocating for others, yet these innovations rarely reach beyond their immediate environment.
There are reasons, good ones. Time, workload pressures, cultural and hierarchical barriers, confidence, or perhaps fear of failure or criticism.
But, as we stumble into a world dominated by tech and AI, it’s nurses who could, and should, reclaim the narrative. Because innovation isn’t just about apps and algorithms. It’s about empathy. It’s about the small shifts that make care safer, kinder, more human.
We are the ones living the daily challenges of care delivery. We see what works and what doesn’t. That proximity to reality is our strength.
The trouble is, we love our boxes (or titles) and within them a quiet hierarchy still lingers. One thing I’ve learnt, but it took me a long time to realise this, is that titles don’t matter nearly as much as the purpose that connects us.
So, what if we built collective confidence? A culture where curiosity trumps hierarchy, where practical wisdom carries as much weight as policy and pay grade, and where every idea, no matter how small, gets the oxygen it deserves?
This is why I became a Trustee for FoNS. It stands for curiosity and connection. It gives people the space and confidence to question, to try, to fail, to grow.
Because maybe the real disruption isn’t another new technology or initiative. Maybe it’s a workforce of nurses who come together and believe their ideas are worth spreading.