The role of steering groups and project workers in NDUs

In light of the challenges that many nursing development units (NDUs) have faced during the past four years, this paper assesses the usefulness, as perceived by their clinical leaders, of support structures that had to be in place to secure NDU status. The structures assessed were a steering group and the allocation of a project worker by the King's Fund. Well organised steering groups offer unique opportunities to the NDUs to gain access to the knowledge and expertise of key figures, marketing the NDU and ensuring the project progresses to plan. Influential project workers were found to support the clinical leader and NDU staff, act as an external advocate and provide a global knowledge of nursing developments. This is the second of two papers reporting on a Department of Health-funded review of NDUs. The first appeared in Nursing Times on November 20.